


Ignite the Stars

by storiesbeyondthestars



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Alpha Hunk (Voltron), Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Shiro (Voltron), Character Death, Childbirth, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, No Smut, Omega Keith (Voltron), Omega Pidge (Voltron), Pack Dynamics, but again no smut, in my abo fic?, it's more likely than you think, mentions/discussion about attempted sexual assult
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-03-18 02:54:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 266,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13672782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesbeyondthestars/pseuds/storiesbeyondthestars
Summary: Everyone just wants to figure out who they are and where they fit in the grand scheme of things. For Keith and Lance, it meant trying to figure out how they fit together while also being accepted as who they were individually. For Pidge, this means accepting things she never thought would happen. For Hunk, this meant figuring out how balancing taking care of others and himself. For Shiro it meant trying to accept that he’s not what he thought. For Allura and Coran, it meant trying to keep up with these very confusing humans.The smut-free, relationship-filled (platonic and romantic), character driven A/B/O fic that no one asked for (but apparently a few people wanted????).





	1. The Omegas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story now has some amazing fanart now! Thank you very much!
> 
> [Keith and Pidge](https://the-angriest-mareep.tumblr.com/post/177365013578/inspired-by-ignite-the-stars-chapter-1-by) by [Meep](https://the-angriest-mareep.tumblr.com/)

It didn’t take Coran very long to realize that humans were very, very strange.

On one hand he was fascinated by them. Their physical structure was startlingly similar to Alteans, standing on two legs with similar joints, muscles, and internal organs.

On the other hand, there were some things that were just downright strange. Their skin was generally so soft and fragile, not quite as rough and strong as Altean skin. They had such hideous ears, and they couldn’t shapeshift, though that wasn’t common attribute amongst species anyway. They barely had any affinity for magic, they fought amongst themselves for the dumbest reasons, and they had teeth and organs they didn’t even need. What was with that?

Don’t even get him started on the fact that they regularly consumed things that would kill most other species that Coran knew of. It was quite frightful when they had come across the deadly diavois plant, to which Hunk happily exclaimed ‘carrots’ and took them for supper. It had nearly given him a heart attack.

He had seen the Paladins all do strange things, but this one was particularly odd.

Plachu had stolen his moustache moisturizer again (he knew the little rat liked it to keep his fur smooth), and he needed the cream before it got too dry and puffy. He had searched high and low for the little rodent, eventually settling on asking the Paladins if they had seen the beast.

Shiro was planning on the command deck (the effort was noble, but he really needed to take a break), Hunk was cooking, Pidge was building something, Lance was swimming, and Allura said that she was strategizing, but Coran knew that she was just styling her hair with the other mice. He would never call her out on it though, she deserved some time to just be a princess and act as silly as the other Paladins. In comparison to their life cycles, she was at the same stage as them, after all.

The last person that he checked with was Keith. The first place he searched while looking for the Red Paladin was the training deck, since the boy could often be found there. Coran was surprised to find the space empty, and a part of him hoped that Keith had actually taken their bit of down time to relax. He needed it as much as Shiro did.

He checked his room next, and was incredibly surprised by why he found. The Paladin was resting, curled up on his bed, inside of what looked to be a nest made from clothes, blankets, towels, and sheets.

He didn’t know that much about humans yet, but he did know enough to know that they didn’t usually sleep like this.

The Altean man took a step into the room when Keith’s eyes snapped open and a rather uncharacteristic, alarmed whine escaped his lips. Indigo eyes widened as he stared at Coran, looking rather horrified.

“Keith, are you alright?” Coran asked him, eyes pinching with concern. His eyes drifted along the pile and to the alarmed paladin. His normally pale skin was flushed, and there was sweat dripping down his face as he breathed oddly. Now that he was looking, Coran could tell that he was also in loose pyjamas, rather than the clothes he normally wore. “You look like you’re burning up! Let me check your temperature!”

Keith reared back as Coran tried to approach, a distressed yelp escaping his lips before he could stop it. There was a commotion in the hallway, and Shiro suddenly appeared at the door.  
  
Dark grey eyes took one look at Keith before his expression softened. “Oh Keith.” The younger Paladin practically shrunk in front of them. “It’s okay. You stay there, and I’ll be back in a couple minutes. Did you get enough water? Food?”  
  
“No,” he admitted, not making eye contact with either of them.

Shiro nodded his head and put a hand on Coran’s shoulder. “Come on.”

Coran was more than a little bit confused as Shiro guided him away. He glanced towards the Black Paladin and asked, “What is ailing Number Four?”

“It’s a human thing we never talked about, but we probably should have,” he admitted. “Don’t worry, he’s not sick or anything.”

That led to Coran’s introduction to the insane world of human dynamics.

The Paladins had explained human biology early on, since it could impact the settings of the healing pods depending on their biological sex. It ranged on a spectrum from male to intersex to female, though the intersex part had the biggest variety. Then he had been introduced to the concept of human genders. Again, on a spectrum that seemed to be based at first on biological sex, but there were also cultural concepts and personal preferences to consider.

It was truly mindboggling and fascinating for the old Altean, so finding out that there was a third related aspect of this really caught his interest.

Alpha. Beat. Omega. That was what Shiro said. Apparently the humans in charged loved categorizing things, and in this case, they categorized people based on their ability to produce offspring in its simplest form.

Nothing was simple with humans though. That was something that Coran had learned very early on.

“Betas are sterile, and actually make up most of the population,” Shiro explained. “Omegas are the ones that carry the pups – a term we use for babies – for nine months before giving birth, and are the rarest dynamic. Alphas are the ones that impregnate the omegas.”

“That doesn’t seem very conducive to keeping population levels up,” Coran noted. Having the largest part of your population being sterile sounded horrible, though it did lend to the notion of evolution and survival of the fittest. It still sounded dreadfully inconvenient though.

Shiro chuckled. “There are a lot of people on Earth. Actually, some theories say that a large part of the population became sterile because there were too many of us. I’m not sure if that’s true or not though, it wasn’t my area of study, and humanity lost a massive portion of its history and scientific advancements in the Dark Ages.” He shrugged.

“Ah.” Coran nodded his head. He wanted to ask how a species could lose part of their own history, but unfortunately, he had an idea of exactly how it had happened. “Forgive me, but what does this have to do with Keith.”

“Humans have a very strong sense of smell,” Shiro explained. He twisted around and tugged down his collar a bit, pointing at the back of his neck. “We have scent glands here that give off pheromones that we can smell. Everyone has a unique smell, and because our sense is so strong, we can pick up on emotional changes within other people. We can also smell who is an Alpha, Beta, or Omega.” He let go of his collar and turned around again.

Humans were truly fascinating. Coran absolutely loved to gain new knowledge. He might not have been able to use magic like some Alteans, but he had a near perfect memory for information like this. It ran in his family and made them highly valuable to the royal family.

Apparently there was a lot of social and cultural norms and stereotypes that built up around human dynamics more than any other aspect of humanity.

Alphas had strong, powerful scents that were almost spicy or musky, and their instincts made them more aggressive and confrontational at their worst. Most of the time though, this translated to good leadership abilities. They were the Pack Leaders, and tended to be bigger than the other dynamics.

Of course this didn’t always happen, since a person’s physicality came from genetics as well. Male alphas tended to be tall and built bigger, while female alphas are a bit shorter than them, but usually taller than male omegas, who were usually taller than female omegas. Betas could be anywhere, but of course, those were just generalities and sometimes didn’t apply at all.

Betas had a more subtle, stable scent that usually resembled natural things such as grass or rain. They were the workers, the helpers, the ones that could help calm Alphas when they became too aggressive to others, or when Omegas couldn’t take care of themselves and didn’t have a mate or familiar Alpha taking care of them.

Omegas usually smelled sweet. They were expected to be more soft and nurturing; to take care of their children and their mated Alpha. They were thought to be more vulnerable and weak. This stemmed from the fact that, once they presented as Omega, their bodies started going through a reproductive cycle. Once every three months they became highly fertile for a week – the only time that they could conceive. Due to this, their bodies put almost all of their energies into conceiving a pup (an affectionate nickname for human babies and children). They physically became weaker and much more vulnerable, often unable to leave their own nests or really able to take care of themselves at all.

“You should never touch an Omega’s nest, or the Omega in the nest, without permission,” Shiro explained. “Not only is their skin very sensitive anyway, but they tend to be anxious if forced out of their nests, and a bit fearful too. It’s purely their instincts. Nests are designed to be an area where they feel safe.”  
  
Coran’s eyes went wide as everything fell together like a neat puzzle. “Oh dear. Keith is an Omega, isn’t he?” He had known that Keith was intersex due to his scans, but this was new information. “And I tried to touch him without warning in his nest.”

“That’s right.” Shiro agreed with a grimace. “I should have realized that this was going to happen at some point.” He ran his fingers across the bridge of his nose. “I can barely smell anything anymore. Only really powerful scents can get through, so I didn’t know his heat was coming.”

“Why didn’t any of the others mention it?” Coran wondered.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if some of them happened to have suppressants on them when we came into space. Most people carry emergency doses with them – it’s something I could see Hunk having. That’s medication that hide our scents, stop biological functions like heats and ruts, and dampens your sense of smell. The ones that the Garrison gave to their cadets was incredibly powerful. Pidge, Lance, and Hunk will probably have those in their systems for a while. I was off of them before I went into space, and Keith…well…his wore off a lot faster than anyone else I ever met.”  
  
Coran nodded his head, going over the information again. “And what, may I ask, is a rut?”

Shrio grimace. “That happens with Alphas. Unlike Omegas, that have heats every three months, Alphas can go into a rut without warning. It’s usually because of an Omega’s pheromones, but it can also be because of chemical changes or their environments. If Lance, Hunk, or Pidge are Alphas, the suppressants wearing off – what we call a detox – will probably cause that. It’s not…a pleasant thing. Alphas tend to get very aggressive. On Earth, a lot of assholes use that as an excuse to…take advantage of Omegas. It’s different for everyone. It makes me glad I’ve never had to deal with it.”

That made the Altean frown as he glanced Shiro over. “Are you not an Alpha? You fit the description, and the other Paladins look to you as a leader.”

Shiro chuckled. “I’m the Black Paladin – the team leader – you know that, and I’m also the oldest. I’m actually a Beta.” Sometimes Betas became Pack Leaders, depending on their age, experience, and things like that. It just seemed that everyone fell in line with him without question.

During this explanation, Shiro had gone about filling and packing water packets, as well as the little containers they used for food goo rations for missions, piling them into a box. At Coran’s curious look, he said, “Omegas tend to go through a lot of…fluids during their heats.” Shiro made a strange face. “I’m going to put this in Keith’s room so he remembers to actually drink and eat.”  
  
“Ah. May I accompany you? I’d like to offer my apologies!”

Shiro smiled softly and nodded his head. The two of them headed off towards Keith’s room, food and drink in hand.

Yes, humans were very weird, Coran concluded. They were also fascinating though, and he wouldn’t trade his group of humans for anything else.

…

Keith hated his heats, but he absolutely hated suppressants too. It was a vicious cycle of trying to figure out which one he preferred.

He understood why it was important for the government branch that was responsible for space exploration and security to keep their cadets in line. They didn’t want Alphas to fly into ruts at the scent of an Omega in heat, and they didn’t want Omegas to go into heat and be ‘useless’ for a week every three months. They didn’t want to have to deal with pregnant omegas and babies.

They gave all of their cadets very powerful suppressants, the best of the best. It didn’t matter if Betas had rather neutral, earthy smells and didn’t really react to the pheromones of others. They basically had to take them so that it put everyone on the playing field. No one knew what the other was unless they specifically told others. It wasn’t uncommon for alphas to brag.

Keith had never known why, but his body burned through suppressants twice as fast as anyone else. That hadn’t been on his mind at all when he left the Garrison, more worried about swiping what he could of other resources.

Detoxing wasn’t a pleasant experience. The Garrison normally provided them with emergency suppressants so that they wouldn’t have to experience it, but Keith was on his own in a shack in the desert. The detoxing had very quickly triggered his heat, and it had been one of the most miserable, painful experiences Keith had gone for in his then 18 years of life.

Keith hated the suppressants. He hated the detoxing. He hated the fact that he was an Omega. He hadn’t always though.

As a very young child, Keith had still been a little more reserved, but he had also been bright and happy. He loved coming home with projects that had smiley face stickers for his father, because it put a smile on the man’s face too.

He had loved his father. The man was always sad, missing the mother that had left them when Keith was only a baby. That had always bothered him, but he had his father, and that’s what mattered. He didn’t have a pack, but he had a family, even if it was a small one.

Until he suddenly didn’t.

Hurt and alone, old enough to understand the concept of death and knowing that his father wasn’t coming back, but young enough to not really understand why at the same time, Keith became withdrawn and hostile.

The first few families understood. He was given specifically to the ones that could deal with kids that had to deal with trauma and loss.

Somehow he even managed to be too much for them to deal with. Family after family, school after school, Keith learned very quickly that he didn’t belong. That he was weird. That he wasn’t wanted. He didn’t belong to a family or a pack.

Humans were creatures that, even if they were introverted, they still wanted to belong with others, and Keith was no exception. Experience taught him that trying to get close to others only ended up in pain and loss. There was only so much that he could take before he decided that it wasn’t worth it. Why make connections when he was just going to end up hurt because of it?

The end result was that he came across as cold and distant. He knew what people said about him in the Garrison. He was untouchable. He was powerful. Everyone assumed that he was an Alpha because what else could he possibly be?

Keith had known it was a possibility growing up, he was intersex, as all male omegas were. He still remembered being really young, and his father asking him if he was okay being a boy and not a girl (“We can call you Keitha instead, if you want.”), which he was. He had always identified as the male gender, though someone with the exact same set of organs as him may identify as female or something else.

Some people were disgusted by that. Keith was confused by this, because who honestly cared?

Keith wasn’t ashamed of being an Omega. There was nothing wrong with that dynamic, despite all the misinformation out there. There was nothing wrong with being able to have children. There was nothing wrong with smeller sweeter than some others.

There was everything wrong with him being an Omega though. It was a waste on him. He didn’t fit in with what omegas were supposed to be by a long shot. Caring? Kind? Sweet? Submissive? Keith was none of those things. It was one of the reasons he was okay with the suppressants so no one could judge him.

At the Garrison suppressants were a requirement for cadets, but officers could do as they pleased. After all, it was expected that Omegas give birth to at least one pup in their early 20s. The thought made Keith feel a little ill because he was in his early 20s. He was supposed to be looking for a mate, or have one already. He was supposed to start thinking about the fact that his real purpose was pushing another human out of his body.

Keith knew who he was, and it wasn’t that. So he kept that part of him to himself. Put the conversation out of sight and out of mind.

The only problem with that was the fact that Omegas craved having the scents from their pack-mates around them during their heats. The most important things were the scents of an Alpha, be it their mate, a parent, or a Pack Leader, but everything mattered. Very quickly, the Paladins were forming an over-all pack dynamic, even without knowing their personal dynamics.

A part of Keith was getting used to being in a pack. He didn’t want to let anyone else in, but somehow they were going it. From Pidge’s wit, to Hunk’s warmth, to Lance’s humour, all of the other humans were working their way into his life in a way he hadn’t let anyone else in years. Even Allura and Coran were a part of their pack, despite not having the human instincts for it, and were just as important to him.

It was stupid, really. He had gotten through heats alone before. There was no reason to think about it as they travelled through the universe fighting the Galra. After all, he had a couple of Shiro’s shirts to work into his nest every three months. He wasn’t an Alpha, but it was better than nothing.

Coran finding out about him the way he did was extremely embarrassing. It wasn’t because the Altean now knew that he was an Omega, but rather how he reacted. He hated the fact that he truly did act like a typical omega when he was in the midst of his heats.

He was usually able to pull through if Voltron was needed though, so there was that. In fact, prior to that incident, no one had noticed the fact that he had gone into heat before. He still piloted Red. He still tried to push through with training as much as he could, and when he couldn’t, now both Shiro and Coran had his back. So maybe it was a good thing that he knew.

It was a little sad, really, that no one else noticed the fact that he had disappeared for a week once every three months. Keith was pretty sure that Hunk had a supply of suppressants on him that he was probably sharing with Lance, which meant that their dynamic was the same since they were specific to each one. He wasn’t sure whether they were Alphas or Betas, but he was fairly certain that they weren’t Omegas.

If not the suppressants, no one noticed because he was, in fact, a loner. After the first few times of asking Keith to join them, no one really ever tried to look for him for anything that wasn’t Voltron related.

He hated the fact that he had made himself believe that they were just asking him to hang out due to pity, but the end result was that he was sure they didn’t really want him there, so he didn’t go hang out with them. Then he felt lonely and wished he had. Then after so long they gave up.

And they always did give up.

When a light, sweet, and almost innocent scent tinted the air, Keith took immediate notice. Though Allura and Coran had distinctive smells, it wasn’t either of them. Allura smelled like sweet flowers to the point where it was almost overwhelming, and, oddly enough, Coran kind of smelled like Cheetos. He wondered what Hunk and Lance would have to say about that when they could finally smell it again.

Keith knew the smell that had caught his attention. It was one that developed when teenage omegas were about to go into their first heat. They were normally clueless about their own scent shifting, but Keith had been in foster houses with Omegas younger than him before.

Confusion rushed through him, because that didn’t make sense. Shiro was a Beta. Lance and Hunk were on suppressants. The only other person it could have been was Pidge, but she was 17. Most people presented anywhere from 13 to 16.

“Oh,” Keith mumbled as his mind came to a conclusion. It was the only one that made any kind of sense, he just didn’t know what to do about it. 17 was a tad late to present, most people would have assumed they were a Beta by then, but it wasn’t unheard of.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do. Was he supposed to approach Pidge? Or was he supposed to wait for her? Then again, why would he go to her? He had tried to reach out to Lance, but was quickly spurned. He knew better than to really try again, no matter how attractive he found the other boy.

(Shut up Shiro, he had eyes and was allowed to think that someone else was really, really hot without having to do anything about it, thanks.)

Despite this, Keith wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, and this was more important than just his pride. So he set off in search of the scent. Maybe he should have got Shiro, he was a Beta, after all. It would have made sense. Instead, he just kept going.

The door to Pidge’s lab (an abandoned room that she had commandeered early on) was wide open, allowing him to peer inside. The Omega in him hissed at big at just how messy this was. It wasn’t suitable for a nest. Yeah, his shack had been a complete mess, and he wasn’t the neatest person in the world when he actually did get around to collecting things, but he did care when he thought others were going to see his surroundings. It was why his room and the Garrison had always been impeccable and his current room was down-right bare.

Yeah, a part of him really did care about appearances. Despite not wanting to be judged by Omega stereotypes, he attributed his desire to always look clean and presentable to the fact that he was an Omega.

“Pidge?” he called out, looking around cautiously. He felt like just tapping anything would cause it to blow up. Though cool, this wasn’t the right place for that.

“Back here!” she called out to him, and Keith headed towards the back of her lab. When he found her, he came to an abrupt halt, raising an eyebrow.  
  
She had completely surrounded herself with wires, scraps of metal, tools, and all kinds of other strange things in almost a perfect circle. She took one look at his incredulous face and frowned. “What?”

Oh no. She was completely obvious. “Pidge. You can’t—you realize what you’re sitting in, right?”  
  
“My lab?” she replied, not quite sure where he was going with this. Then again, she was probably surprised he had come to talk to her at all. It was a very un-Keith thing to do.

He had vowed as an unfortunate 13-year-old, whose heat had come too early in his opinion (it was still in the acceptable age range but still), that he would never allow another Omega to go through that alone. He was going to stick to that promise.

She sniffed the air suddenly, her expression changing. “Is that smell coming from you? I thought it was Allura. It’s really sweet. I mean, I always knew you smelled sweet, but it’s really strong right now. Are you going into heat or something?”

Keith blinked. “You know I’m an Omega?”  
  
“Uh, yeah?” She raised an eyebrow. “It’s pretty obvious. You basically vanish for a week every three months – I double checked when I got suspicious – plus you smell almost like chocolate chip cookies. You’re also unfairly pretty for a guy.”

Well then. Keith wasn’t quite sure how to take that. It had known that Pidge wasn’t on suppressants since he could smell her, but he hadn’t thought that she’d really notice him.

Then again, he didn’t remember the last time he had hung out with Pidge one-on-one. Actually, he wasn’t sure he ever had. It made him feel guilty, because he could have picked up on what was happening earlier.

“You haven’t presented yet, have you?” Keith asked.

She stared up at him almost scandalized. “No. I’m a Beta. It was how I got through the Garrison as a short 18-year-old, male Beta named Pidge Gunderson. Put one of those scent-suppressing wraps around my neck just in case, and the rest was history.”  She sounded so proud of herself, and honestly, Keith felt a little proud too.

“The smell that you’re catching,” he said, turning back to the first topic. “It’s not because of me. Well, I mean, it is me you’re smelling, but it’s not because my scent is stronger. It’s because your sense of smell is getting stronger.”

“I…guess that makes sense but why…” she trailed off, putting two and two together. “I’m presenting, aren’t I? Or I’m about to.” Her eyes went wide and she looked at Keith desperately. “What do I smell like?”

Guilt rushed through him, and he felt like he was delivering a death sentence. “Not a neutral, earthy thing like Betas are supposed to smell like.”

Pidge’s shoulders dropped at his implication. “Well, I’m not intersex, so I guess that means I smell like chocolate chip cookies too, don’t I?”

He sniffed the air and said, “More like cupcakes.”

“I like cookies more.” She suddenly looked down at the mess around her, mouth opening with surprise. “I’m sitting in a nest.”  
  
“Not the right kind, but yeah.” 

Pidge groaned and flopped back, grimacing as her back dug into the nuts and bolts behind her. “Fuck.”

Keith snorted. Now that was a sentiment he could get behind.

…

Pidge had always felt like she belonged with her family. Her parents and brother had always been there for her, even when she couldn’t connect to anyone else. That being said though, she didn’t really know much about the rest of her family. She knew that the majority of her family was from Italy, but she had never met them. It was just her, her brother, their parents, and their dog, Bae Bae.

She never felt like she belonged to a pack, just a family.

Being in space and having everyone accept her as a girl, even after she lied to them, made her feel differently.

Shiro was a bit of a myth to her. Matt and her father had gone on and on about him before, so she knew about him, but actually seeing him was something else. He was everything that Matt had gushed about, but at the same time, he had more chinks to him. Pidge understood that it was the PTSD, and it made sense, but Shiro was still an amazing leader and someone she felt she could turn to with her problems. It took her by surprise when she realized that he was a beta, since he seemed to be everything that a stereotypical alpha should be.

Hunk was someone she could easily relate to. He was always eager to help her build different contraptions, or to help her with whatever science project that she was pursuing. He was just so happy and generally warm to be around, but there was also a side to him that could be downright frightening if he wanted to be.

Lance reminded her a lot of Matt, her ridiculous beta brother who was a bigger nerd than she could ever hope to be. Being around Lance made her happy and sad. She wanted to get her brother back more and more, but she understood that the team, that the universe, was something she couldn’t walk away from.

Keith was a bit harder than the rest. He was distant, but at the same time, he wasn’t exactly cold. It was more like he just didn’t know how to interact with people, and, okay, she kind of understood that. His reaction to her trying to leave had genuinely startled her. She thought of everyone, he’d be the last to comment. Hadn’t he been kicked out of the Garrison?

Pidge didn’t know the story behind that, but she had heard many rumours. She also remembered seeing him at the Kerberos launch to see Shiro off, since the families had been invited. Now that she thought back, he had been the only one there for Shiro. She wondered what the story behind that was too.

The fact that he was the one to approach her about the fact that she was presenting as an Omega was a bit startling. It instantly endeared her towards him though, since he was so awkward about it. He could have pointed it out to Shiro, who could barely smell something right under his nose now, but he came himself.

Pidge liked to learn, and she especially liked getting information from a reliable resource. Shiro was great, but when it came to Omega things, who better to look to than another Omega.

“Pidge…what the hell?” He looked horrified at the state of her room.

“Don’t judge me.”

“How?” He ducked out of the way as she threw a pillow at him, an action she quickly regretted. She wanted that pillow back.

Keith picked It up and handed it back to her. “Right, so you sure that you’ll feel secure here?” He had told her to find a place where she would feel safe to make a nest in.  
  
“Yeah.” Pidge nodded her head as she held the pillow close. She always felt comfortable in her room. Her stomach twisted with nausea. “Um…does it…you know…hurt?” He looked at her. “Going into heat?”

It honestly never really occurred to Pidge just how expressive Keith was. They all joked about him being the loner with two settings: rage and uncaring. Now that she was actually studying him closely and could catch his scents more clearly, she realized that his eyebrows were super expressive, his nose and mouth seemed to always twitch like they were about to move but he kept those parts of him under control, and his eyes almost screamed what he was actually thinking.

That was how Pidge instantly picked up on the guilt, even before the scent hit her. “Sorry.”

She groaned. “What are you apologizing for? It’s not your fault this is happening to me.”

“Actually, it could be,” Keith noted thoughtfully. “I mean, you were probably going to present sooner rather than later, but we’re in pretty close proximity and my last heat was pretty recent. It might have triggered the process.”

“Oh, well in that case, you’re the worst.” She blinked at the bit of hurt that crossed his face. “Not literally.” She cleared her throat. “So, um, it does hurt then? And do—is it true that an Omega’s…libido actually goes out of control. And I guess that means that I can’t be a Paladin for a week, right? Being a liability and all.”

Maybe Keith caught onto the fact that she was really nervous about this, because his scent instantly became soothing and calming, and nothing at all what she expected from him. She breathed in and closed her eyes, finding herself relaxing just slightly. She didn’t know that Omegas could do that.

“Who told you that?” he asked calmly.

She shrugged. “Omegas are weak during their heats, and basically out of their minds. We probably wouldn’t be able to form Voltron with me. Everyone knows that.”

“I’m going to punch the education system,” Keith decided, and Pidge got the distinct impression that he’d genuinely try if he could. The thought amused her greatly. “That’s a lie. It can suck, but you can hold yourself together. I do.”

“What?”

“Pidge.” He gave her an unimpressed look. “You know I’m an Omega. You know I’ve gone into heat up here. During the times I ‘disappeared’, we had incidences where we needed Voltron. Was I there?”

She opened her mouth before closing it again. “You were. I mean, you stayed in Red as support last time but…yeah.”

“Exactly,” Keith said with a stern nod. “Those stereotypes about personalities can go jump out of the airlock.” He grimaced. “Unfortunately, some of the well documented symptoms are true. I just…when I need to push through, I remind myself that the universe is more important than my anxiety about leaving my nest, or the weakness that comes with it. Red helps me out a lot too by taking more control when we fly. I’m sure Green would do the same for you.”

“Good lord, both of Voltron’s arms are Omegas. What are the odds?” She paused. “I’ve been feeling a bit nervous lately,” Pidge said, her mind rushing over things that she had overlooked. “I didn’t think much about it…”  
  
“What about crampy?”  
  
“Yeah, a bit. I thought I was just sitting hunched over for too long.”

He snorted at that, clearly amused. “That’s okay. Omegas don’t usually realize what’s going on at first until the heat hits them, or someone else catches it and helps them out.”

“So your mom caught it for you?”

“No.” Pidge caught onto the hesitation in his voice. He looked entirely too uncomfortable, and she was about to tell him that he didn’t have to say anything, but he kept going. “It was one of my temporary foster sisters; I wasn’t at her house for too long. It was one of those houses that had a rotating door of foster kids and she got used to realizing what presenting Omegas smelled like.”

Pidge’s mind reeled. Without actually coming out and saying ‘I’m a foster kid’, Keith had just told her that he was a foster kid. Honestly, it hadn’t occurred to her at all that he might not have parents at home. His shack was in the perfect place to research about Shiro (and Matt’s) disappearance, so she had just assumed that was it was, a place to crash and research. It wasn’t like Keith was a kid or anything, he didn’t need to live with his parents anymore, but not having any was a different story all together.

She also caught the implication that he had more than one foster home, and her heart squeezed at the thought. The foster system was notoriously terrible, and while some kids did end up is good places, many did not. Keith may have been a bit standoffish but he didn’t deserve to be moved from home to home. No one did.

The question was, was he moved from home to home because of his attitude, or did moving from home to home cause it?

“That was nice of her,” Pidge supplied, knowing that she had to say something, but didn’t want to bring attention to Keith’s status as a foster kid. Not yet at least.

The tension lifted from his shoulders, letting her know that she had made the right choice. “After that I kind of started helping other Omegas that were in group homes or other houses if they needed it. Sort of passing it on, you know? I got good at figuring it out.”

“Well, I’m glad, cause Shiro can’t smell shit and I wouldn’t have known until the heat hit me hard.”

“It’s going to hit you hard,” Keith confirmed, an apologetic expression once again crossing his features.  “Before that, we should stock you up with food and water. And find some stuff around for you to make a nest with.”

Pidge thought about that. She knew that nests were typically formed with the items from a family or pack, or in the case of a mated Omega, usually things that their mate had scented. She didn’t have her family there, and she most definitely didn’t plan on getting a mate any time soon, so that left her pack. Lance and Hunk would be useless right now, their stuff didn’t smell like anything, so Keith and Shiro would have to do.

As if reading her thoughts, Keith said, “Coran and Allura will probably let you take something of theirs. Coran knows about Omegas, so I assume he told Allura. Their scents are pretty strong.” He narrowed his eyes. “Remember, you want soft things. Not metal.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Her gaze turned towards his red jacket. “Hey…I don’t suppose…?”  
  
Keith chuckled lightly and slipped the jacket off of his shoulders, handing it to her. “If it’ll help, you can have it.”

She greedily took it from him, but then realized something. “What do you do? I’ve never noticed anything go missing. I mean…I don’t mean to assume you’d take anything from me but—“

“I’ve wanted to,” Keith admitted almost shyly, which was so un-Keith-like that she wanted to hug him. “I was alone in the desert for two heats though, so I got used to it just being me. Up here, I just usually swipe one of Shiro’s shirts – they may be tight on him but they’re huge. It helps a little bit.” Betas didn’t have very strong scents, but it was better than nothing. “I’m sure no one will protest if you need something though.”

That stopped Pidge for a moment. She frowned at the way he stressed ‘you’, as if he would be turned away. She didn’t like hearing her friend go through that frame of mind. “Well, everyone is right now is kind of useless, but it must be nice having your mate’s stuff around.”

Keith stared at her, clearly uncomprehending. “What?”

“Shiro? That’s what you guys are like, right? Omegas don’t need Alphas so there’s no shame…” She trailed off as Keith suddenly laughed loudly. She couldn’t recall a time that she had ever heard him cackle like he had heard the funniest thing in the world.

“Pidge,” he said when he finally caught his breath, voice still full of mirth, “Shiro’s like my brother.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You sure? You two are really close.”  
  
“Positive,” he replied with a chuckle. “Seriously, the thought of him in that way is kind of…well… picture someone saying you and Matt were mates.”  
  
Pidge was instantly disgusted by the idea. “Oh, ew. I’m sorry.”

Keith nodded. “There’s nothing wrong with Shiro, it’s just not like that for me.” He smiled a bit.

“Shiro reached out to mentor me – basically recruited me – to the Garrison. It meant a lot to me, you know? When you’re a little…orphan Japanese kid, seeing someone like you that has everything together is…inspiring…I guess?” He made a face. “Then people started accusing Shiro of favouring me just because we both have Japanese roots, which is bullshit. I mean, as far as I know my mom wasn’t Japanese, so that leaves me ¼ at best, whereas Shiro actually grew up in Japan.” He paused. “Sorry, that doesn’t help you right now.”

“No, it’s okay.” She shrugged. “I feel like I know nothing about you. I mean, I assumed that you were Japanese because your last name’s Kogane, though your first name’s English.” She shrugged.

“My middle name’s Akira, so there’s that,” Keith said with a shrug of his own. “I think that was the name he wanted to give me but…well…my mother apparently liked the name Keith a lot. Told me once when he was a bit tipsy.”

(It wasn’t until much, much later that Pidge would crack up over the fact that his Galra mother had decided to name him Keith, and he found out when his dad was drunk. Neither of them had a clue about that now though.)

“Lets be real though,” Keith added. “Even if my father wanted to name me Akira, my mom deserved to get final say. If I have to push a person out of me and there’s a name I really want, I’m damn well giving them that name no matter what anyone says.”

“Amen,” Pidge agreed.

He eyed her suddenly. “You did it again. We’re supposed to be talking about you, not me. How did you even—you know what, never mind. Don’t you want to get things settled before everyone else comes looking for you?” He crossed his arms in front of him.

Pidge snickered. “I’m not going to turn out getting intel on the mysterious Keith Akira Kogane. But yes, getting things would be a good idea. You’re my main source of intel now about being an Omega.”

“Better than textbooks written by Alphas that try to make us sound like perfect sex slaves or something,” Keith said bitterly. “Makes them feel entitled to try and do things to Omegas in their heat to ‘help them’.”

Pidge may have been young, but she had gone through health classes at school and had the talk with her parents. Plus, she was Matt’s younger sister, and that boy was an inappropriate internet meme if there ever was one. She knew what Keith meant. She also knew that it sounded incredibly non-consensual.

Nausea twisted inside of her as she thought of Keith alone in that shack for a year when the Garrison’s suppressants wore off. It was a topic that should disgust anyone, but from the sourness tinting his scent, and the way he said it, it sounded like he knew how alphas acted from personal experience. “Oh god…did anyone ever—I mean—sorry you don’t have to answer that.”

Keith looked away. “Lets just say that the towns close to my shack – and close to the Garrison – weren’t really great places to be when you were an Omega about to go into heat and needed supplies.” His fingers curled into fists.

Pidge was actually going to throw up. “Oh my god. Keith…”

Keith seemed to zone out for a moment before shaking his head and forcing himself to look nonchalant. “Don’t worry about it.” He caught her distressed look. “Nothing actually happened.”

Pidge frowned, hugging her legs to herself as she sat on her messy bed. “That happens to a lot of people like us, doesn’t it?”

“Too many,” Keith agreed grimly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall by her door. “Alphas can control themselves though. There are just some assholes who try not to.” He eyed her thoughtfully, and Pidge could almost see the gears turning in his head. Whatever conclusion he came to he definitely didn’t like it. “Shit.”  
  
“What’s shit?”  
  
“Don’t worry about it.”  
  
“Keith.”

“It’s just…detoxing can be a big problem with Alphas. I have no idea what dynamic Lance and Hunk are, and I don’t know when their suppressants will wear out, but be ready for it. Do you know what their dynamics are?”  
  
“I wasn’t…I was their team mate at the Garrison, but honestly, I never really bothered getting to know them,” Pidge admitted. “Like, I knew them, but I was too busy looking for proof that my dad and Matt were still alive to really care. You know?”  
  
“I get it.” He nodded. “Right, so…um…well first thing you need to know. Omegas aren’t completely helpless all the time. It really depends on your environment. Lets say you have an Alpha, you have a nest, you have an entire pack, and you’re in a completely safe environment. You’re probably going to be pretty out of it.  In a place like this though? Where we can be attacked at any time, where so many people are depending on us?” He shook his head. “Yes, you’ll probably be out of it and weak, but you have the ability to pull yourself out of that easier. I just kept a simple, clear goal in my mind, did what I needed to do, and high-tailed it back to my nest before the adrenaline wore off.”

Now that Pidge thought back, he had definitely disappeared after the battles during his heat pretty quickly. “What else?”

“There are no Alphas here right now, so it’s not a problem, but it’s a stereotype that Omegas will just throw themselves at anyone. Yeah, sure, we’re more drawn towards Alphas, but personalities, sexualities, and the environment you grew up in kind of impacts that, ya know? For instance, I’ve always like the scents of male Alphas, and the scents of female ones are kind of…gross I guess? At least for me. You’re lucky enough to smell a bit on the young side, so that would probably make any alphas disinterested. I mean, messed up pedophiles aside.” Keith grimaced at that. “Young Omegas tend to make Alphas go into protective mode – just like family does.”

“Good,” Pidge said vehemently. “I have no desire to mate with anyone. No offense to anyone else here.” Despite health classes, it wasn’t something that she had ever really thought about. Maybe when she was older she would take the time to think about what she really wanted in regards to that aspect of her life, even if she was only three years shy of when she was expected to find a mate, but for now, she just wanted to get through this so that she could get back on track with finding her family and saving the universe.

The important things.

“Okay, so there are a lot of assumptions that are wrong. I can roll with that.” She nodded her head as if agreeing with her own words. “What about physical symptoms? You hinting at pain and cramping but…I don’t care if you’re a little more graphic. I can deal with that too. I’d rather be prepared.”

Pidge almost laughed at how uncomfortable Keith suddenly looked. “I’m not asking for a sex talk; I know how that works. I mean the other things.” A small, sadistic part of her wanted to act clueless about that to see how Keith would react. She was really getting the impression that he wasn’t nearly as composed as he pretended to be.

He cleared his throat. “What did I mention already? Anxiety? Fear? Weakness? Um…oh, you’ll be exhausted. It’s not even funny how tired you’ll be. You’ll be pretty thirsty, but not very hungry. It’s why you feel hungrier beforehand. You can sort of store up some energy beforehand, but you have to force yourself to eat a little bit – oddly enough the food goo really helps on this cause it’s so light. If you can’t, one of us will come and get you to do it. That’s another thing, you’re really likely to just…listen to anyone you genuinely trust.”  
  
“Huh,” she spoke up before he could keep going. “So that’s why people in relationships talk about what’s okay during a heat beforehand.”  
  
“That’s right,” Keith agreed. “Omegas literally can’t properly give consent for anything, relationship or not. Alphas will be drawn towards them, and if they go into a rut – brief or not – the odds of the Omega agreeing to whatever they want is pretty high.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Consent is important.”

She nodded her head at how seriously he spoke. “Anything else?”

“Oh, right, we talked about the cramping, right? And, uh…” He trailed off, looking rather embarrassed. “Everything down there that isn’t your – you know – vagina kind of hurts.”

Pidge snorted loudly. “Of course it does. Wouldn’t want an Omega resorting to anal instead, right?” She laughed again at Keith’s horrified expression. “What? I’ve seen things on the internet that would make your skin crawl!”

“But you’re like a fetus!”

She burst into laughter. “I can’t believe you just said that!”  
  
He groaned and hid his face in his hands. “Stupid Lance.”

That’s right. Lance had said that before. A sly smile spread across her lips. “Lance, huh?”

Keith looked at her suspiciously. “What about him?”  
  
“I’m just saying, if someone was inclined to like the male gender, he’s not bad looking, right?” To get a reaction, she wiggled her eyebrows. Keith groaned, trying to hide his pink cheeks. She’d call this one a victory. “Anyway, yeah. The internet is deep, and dark, and creepy, and I’ve seen things that would scare even you.”

“I…don’t doubt that,” he conceded, apparently glad to get back on topic. She’d have to push about the Lance thing again in the future. “Right, um…oh! Obviously it’s called a heat so that means that you’re going to feel really, really hot, and your skin gets super sensitive. That’s why it’s important to find the right things for a nest.” He gave her a pointed look. “Not wire and robot pieces.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”  
  
“Never,” he agreed.

“Of course not.” She blinked at him. “So how hot are we talking here? I remember being able to feel the heat radiating off of my mom when I was little.”

“Yeah, it gets bad. And the first few times are the worst in that way.”  
  
“How bad we talking?”  
  
“Your organs hate you, and you’re burning from the inside out bad?”

“Excellent,” Pidge remarked sarcastically, flopping back onto her bed dramatically. She eyed him before asking, “What now?”

Keith tilted his head slightly, and honestly, it was kind of adorable. How had she thought of him as only a stoic, hard ass? He was so painfully awkward, struggling through it because he clearly just wanted to help.  
  
She liked this Keith. She decided that she’d keep him.

“Pilfer everyone’s stuff to find you things you want to make your nest with?” he suggested with a shrug.

She jumped off of her bed in excitement, pulling his red jacket on over her arms. It was comforting. “Let’s not tell them. It’ll drive Lance insane when he can’t find his stuff.” She couldn’t stop herself from bouncing on the spot. “I need his lion slippers.”

“You have green lion slippers,” Keith pointed out, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

“Yeah, but I want his. It’ll drive him nuts, and he won’t be allowed in my room. It’s my space.” Wow, okay, apparently she was embracing this Omega stuff, because the thought of Lance in her space genuinely bothered her more than it would have a week ago.

Keith snorted and shook his head as they started walking down the hall. “Alright. I’ll distract him somehow and you run in and grab what you want.”

“Somehow,” Pidge muttered, unable to hide her amusement. Her smile only grew when she got his inquisitive expression. “Just flirt with him.”

“I—I don’t—“

“Please. Like I haven’t seen the looks you give him.” She playfully gagged. “Disgusting.” Pidge hoped that she wasn’t pushing the teasing too much, she didn’t want this more open Keith to clam up again.

He huffed. “Fine, you win. He’s attractive. So what? Ascetically, Shiro is too but I don’t think that about him. And Hunk is hot too.”

She laughed. “Okay, yes, I get it. All the men in the castle are hot. Though you didn’t mention Coran.”

“Was there any need?”

“Coran, Coran the gorgeous man,” she sang before shaking her head. “Point made. You didn’t complain about them forgetting a bonding moment though.” Instantly, Pidge knew that she had said the wrong thing, since Keith’s face fell. She started to apologize, but Keith beat her to it.

“I—I’m not sure that…well…” He shifted awkwardly. “I don’t really…get people. I don’t really get the whole rivalry thing? I just thought that…maybe we could move beyond that?” He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

Pidge actually winced. That made so much sense. Keith had reached a hand out in apparently the only way he knew how (when Lance was basically unconscious apparently), and he had been seemingly rejected.

Pidge frowned and said, “Well, Lance is dumb and we’re going to raid his room, but honestly, I think that if you did actually try to flirt with him, it’d be probably break his brain.”

“I’ve tried,” Keith blurted out, causing Pidge to laugh loudly.

She patted his hand. “Just so you know, Lance loves cookies so he’s going to be all over you once he can smell again.” 

“Pidge!”

She cackled and hurried down the hall.

Despite the fact that she was steadily heading towards her first heat ever, because she was presenting as an omega, she found herself happier than anything else. Yeah, she knew from listening to others that heats sucked, but she also had a pretty good bonding moment with the team member that she knew the least about.

Pidge was going to make sure Keith knew she wasn’t about to forget this.


	2. The Alphas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story now has some amazing fanart now! Thank you very much!
> 
> [Hunk and Shiro](https://the-angriest-mareep.tumblr.com/post/177467193088/he-got-himself-a-plate-of-food-good-and-sat-down) by [Meep](https://the-angriest-mareep.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [Keith and Lance](https://the-angriest-mareep.tumblr.com/post/177504314208/it-took-lance-completely-off-guard-when-keith) by [Meep](https://the-angriest-mareep.tumblr.com/)

When Hunk woke up that morning, he _knew_ it was going to be a bad day. Now that he was awake and aware of his surroundings, he was being assaulted by a series of smells like never before.

He groaned and plugged his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. He thought for a moment, and realized that he had been able to smell things a bit better the night before too, and his body must have been on the last of his suppressants.

Hunk had been _dreading_ this since they came into space. Since he and Lance had used the last of the suppressant pills. A part of him had hoped that they’d be home before this became a problem, but that was wishful thinking. They were probably going to be up there for a long time.

That kind of made sense, since it was over 10,000 years old, but he could dream.

Hunk forced himself to sit in his bed, pressing his hands against his head. “Okay. Let’s think this out. Detoxes suck, but so people don’t go completely crazy, chemicals leave your body one at a time. The first one is the one that blocks your sense of smell. The second one is the one that suppresses your pheromones. The third one is the preventatives in it. They should have had the smell ones come back at the end.”

Really though, Hunk knew _why_ it had to be that way. Already he was feeling sick from the onslaught of smells that hit him. The second part could very well send him into a rut or make his sickness even worse. He had incredibly good control over himself, so he bet it’d be the second one. The preventative leaving last was just in case.

Of course, once all the chemicals left his system, his body was going to go into withdrawals briefly, and it was going to suck. 

Already, Hunk felt sick to his stomach, and agitated. He knew that was the Alpha part of him.

He forced himself the rest of the way up, figuring that he could get a shower and then stumble his way to the kitchen to get some kind of good. He didn’t really feel up to cooking, but staying in his room wouldn’t help him much. The more smells he was exposed to, the better it was.

The shower definitely helped. He felt more refreshed and awake, plus he got to _actually_ smell the Altean soap and though a bit overwhelming at first, it smelled really nice. It was a nice thing to wake up to.

Hunk wasn’t sure what he expected when he went into the kitchen. Maybe to be overwhelmed with a wide variety of spicy scents or something. He had been cooking for the team the best that he could for the past year, using his weakened sense of taste to do his best.

Instead, it was a dull, rather bland smell.

Hunk fished his little tablet out of his pack that he kept on his belt. It was still rather early, and it didn’t surprise him that no one else was up. That was good. He could get through this part of his day without people eyeing him.

He got himself a plate of food good and sat down at the table. Using the spork, he scooped the food into his mouth like he did every morning.

Shiro walked through the door, and at the same time, Hunk spat the goo back onto the plate. He coughed violently.

The Black Paladin was at his side quickly, patting his back. “Are you okay?”  
  
“This stuff is horrible,” he choked out, eyeing the goo like it had betrayed him. His eyes were watering at he looked at Shiro. “This is what I’ve been feeding everyone?”

Shiro raised an eyebrow before his mouth formed into an O. “Your suppressants are wearing off, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.” Hunk nodded and inhaled, Shiro’s scent coming to his attention. It hadn’t occurred to him that some of the other Paladins might not have been on suppressants, meaning they would have gotten the full brunt of the terrible, bland flavour of the food goo. “Oh god, I’m sorry. This stuff is so bad.”

Shiro shrugged. “I mean, it’s not the best, but you’re usually pretty good at making it taste a little bit better. But I’m not the best judge.” At Hunk’s curious glance, he pointed at his scar. “Can’t smell much anymore.”

Hunk winced and almost shrunk down with embarrassment. “Ah, right. Sorry.”

Shiro laughed, the warmth of his smile instantly soothing Hunk. “It’s no big deal. If you want some real opinions, ask Keith or Pidge. Both of them can smell things just fine, and neither one has been on suppressants this whole time.”

“Really?” Hunk asked before he could stop himself. Then it occurred to him that Keith had been kicked from the Garrison nearly a year before they went into space, and Pidge had faked her information and it probably included that. “Of course, that makes sense. I’ll have to make it up to them, this stuff is bad.” He inhaled again and grimaced. “After this wears off. The smells are so intense.” He could smell everything in the room, though what stood out most was Shiro’s wonderfully subtle, earthy smell.

“They are,” Shiro agreed. “I remember when I got off of them after graduating. It should only last a couple days, though I—“  
  
“You’re a Beta!” Hunk blurted out, before slapping his hands to his cheeks, feeling them burn. “I mean, uh…sorry.”

“That’s what I was about to say.” Shiro smiled kindly at him. “I’m a Beta, so I had it a bit easier. There was no possibility of me going off into a rut. Though I did get more aggressive.” His eyes suddenly narrowed in Hunk’s direction. “What are you, if you don’t mind me asking? And do you know what Lance is?”

“It’s fine. We should all know what our dynamics are, right? I’m just surprised you’re a Beta. I thought you were an Alpha, like me and Lance.”

Both Shiro’s eyebrows shot up. “Both of you are Alphas?”  
  
“Yeah and—oh. Oh no.” Hunk flopped against the table top. Two Alphas going into detox at the same time could be a very bad thing, even if those two were close. They should have thought about it, but Lance’s suppressant schedule was a little bit ahead of his. Still, it was close enough where the odds of them butting heads was far too high.They’d have to stay away from one another until after they were both finished detoxing.

At least there were no Omegas around. That would probably set both of them off.

Hunk froze, his head shooting up, his eyes wide. “Keith’s and Alpha and Pidge is a Beta, right?”

Shiro slowly shook his head. “They’re both Omegas. Pidge presented when we were up here months ago.” He grimaced. “She’s actually in heat right now. That’s why she hasn’t been around.”

“Oh that’s bad,” Hunk groaned. The thought of there being two Omegas on the ship already irked him slightly. Looked like his instincts were already kicking in, since it wasn’t pheromone based. “I mean, I have no interest in Pidge or Keith, but Alphas can’t always help what their instincts do. I could end up fighting Lance if the protective instincts kick in, right?”

“It’s a possibility,” Shiro agreed. “I’ll tell you what. We already have Pidge quarantined in her room, so I can get you set up in yours with some water and food that’s not space goo.” He thought for a moment. “Then I’ll track down Lance.”  
  
At the mention of his friend, a thought nagged at the back of Hunk’s brain. He frowned for a moment, chasing after it. “Where’s Keith?”

“Probably in the training room,” Shiro answered, a questioning look on his face.

Hunk didn’t _want_ to betray his friend’s trust, but this was something that Shiro needed to know. He was the Beta amongst them, and that meant it was important for him to have all of the information so he could properly help everyone. “Okay, he hasn’t admitted anything yet, but it’s pretty obvious, but yeah, I’m pretty sure that Lance has a thing for Keith. Like…lowkey already trying to court him without admitting it.”

Shiro blinked a couple times before snorting and shaking his head. “That actually does _not_ surprise me at all. Don’t worry, I’ll track him down, and even if he runs into Keith, I’m not worried. This is Keith we’re talking about after all. Besides, Lance’s pheromones won’t be affected yet.”

“Actually…” Hunk looked at Shiro sheepishly. “Lance got his doses before me, so we stayed on the same schedules so that this whole detox thing _wouldn’t_ happen.” Now that he thought about it, Lance had been oddly quiet lately.

That made Shiro frown, and Hunk could actually see him weighing the pros and cons in his head. “Keith will be okay, but I’ll look for him later. Let’s get you settled.”  
  
“Alright.” Hunk allowed Shiro to guide him back to his room. It was probably for the best. He felt terrible anyway. They could all talk about this dynamic stuff later when they were all in their right minds.

He hoped that everyone else was okay.

…

The castle had a massive library, but it wasn’t really much use to the Paladins at first. Eventually, Pidge managed to create a program that would translate any ‘holobooks’, as they had come to call them. That led to a new universe of discovery even when they were travelling and not able to actually discover new things themselves.

There were so many books, both fiction and non-fiction. It had become a great resource on obscure space things, and it was open to all of them at all times.

That was why Keith found himself sneaking out books on Galra in the middle of the sleep cycle. He had books on biology and language, desperate for answers, but not wanting to ask anyone else questions.

Unfortunately, the only thing Pidge’s program translated was the Altean books, so some that contained Galran were unreadable. While the Altean books were helpful, it would have been nice to know what the Galran ones said too.

That just meant that he’d have to teach himself to at least read Galran.

Keith wasn’t a complete slouch with languages. His father had taught him to speak Japanese when he was very young, and he picked up a little bit of Spanish during his time in and out of foster homes (mostly just swear words, if he was honest). He could teach himself to read Galran books too. It was something he had started working on the second that the idea touched on his mind.

He still couldn’t identify the marking on his knife, but he was positive that it was some kind of altered Galran symbol. The implications, along with everything else that was happening to him, were unsettling.

_You fight like a Galra_.

Zarkon’s voice made Keith shudder.

He took his knife out from under his pillow, unwrapping the hilt and staring at the violet symbol, before turning his attention to his reflection on the perfectly polished surface of the blade.

Keith had never been formally taught to fight. He learned how to do it out of necessity, training himself to fight to survive. Foster care wasn’t always friendly, especially for a problem child like him. He had done his research, but most of it came from instincts and just _moving_. So much of what he did just seemed to come to him. Almost like it was built into his DNA.

Coran had mentioned it before, but everything Keith read clearly stated that Galra were built for survival. They adapted like few other species could – their DNA was able to combine with almost every known intelligent species. It was also why there seemed to be a huge variety of ‘pure’ Galra. They weren’t broken down into sub-species, they just adapted differently. On a genetic level, they were all the same, it just depended on where they lived.

It was the hybrids that were different. Still, even they were designed to survive, to fight.

Keith stared at his reflection, as if trying to see the Galra in him. He looked a lot like his father, or at least the father he pictured in his memories. His face was narrower, his eye-shape slightly different, and the colour was like none he had ever seen before.

He groaned and put the knife away. Frustration welled up in him. He already saw himself as a really weird Omega, and now he had to deal with this too? Why couldn’t someone else be the odd one? 

No, he wouldn’t wish this on any of the others.

Keith shook his head and stood up, needing to get out of his room for a bit. He should go and check on Pidge to see how she was doing.

 A loud curse from the hallway startled him, especially considering who it came from. Keith quickly jumped to his feet and rushed through the door.

…

In his opinion, Lance was normally a pretty chill person. Sure, maybe his brothers and sisters just laughed at him when he voiced this thought, and maybe they called him the biggest drama queen around who over-reacted to everything but…where was he going with this again?

Oh, right. He was chill. He wasn’t the type to try and bully people, verbally or physically. He was laid back and didn’t like fighting. For some reason, he got the feeling that everyone else would be rolling their eyes at him right now.

Yet, all he wanted to do was punch the hell out of something. If he had fur it would have been standing on end. Everything seemed to irritate him to the point where he was physically growling at things. He was a mess.

People would think that Lance would brag about being an Alpha. He actually was quite proud of it, and when someone directly asked, he would puff up and brag that of course he was. He wasn’t simpering and weak like an Omega, or just bland like a Beta.

The thing was, Anton, his oldest brother, was also an Alpha.  He was everything an Alpha should have been: tall, muscular, strong, commanding, secure, powerful and everything good like that. Clara, who was only a year older than him, was also an Alpha, and though she was around Lance’s height and build, she had many of the same attributes as their older brother. The difference was that she was a _female_ Omega, so it was expected for her to be more slender.

Lance was just scrawny. He was more similar in built to Theo or Evelyn, who were also all gangly arms and legs. The difference was that Theo was an Omega, and Evelyn was a Beta. Neither of them were Alphas.

The thing about being an Alpha though, is that no one seemed to care if you didn’t match the physical standards, and long as you walked the walk. He knew how things worked in life, how things worked with his family. So he tried and tried as hard as he could to be the best, only to be foiled.  
  
Of course Keith had to be the one to beat him. Well, technically speaking, nine others had too. Keith had been number one in the fighter class, and Lance had been number one in the cargo class. That put them at number one and number eleven when they were all ranked together. Lance didn’t care about the other nine people in between them though. He wanted to beat the best, not the fifth best or anything like that.  
  
Forget that it was impressive that he got into the Garrison in the first place. It wasn’t enough.

Keith had recognized Lance after a moment when they met again, though only as a cargo pilot. Lance had long decided that Keith was his ultimate rival to the point where he compared himself to the other man _after_ he’d been expelled.

He was the type of Alpha that Lance aspired to be. He was talented, strong, graceful, powerful, and aggressive when he needed to be (though sometimes a little too aggressive),

The thing was, that meant ignoring the things that weren’t associated with being a typical Alpha.  He was loud and certain things could set him off at a moment’s notice, but in the grand scheme of things, he actually _wasn’t_ that aggressive. He liked soft, pretty things (Omegas knew what was up there).

So when it came down to it, Lance actually was a bit ashamed that he wasn’t the Alpha that he should have been. If Keith wasn’t bad enough, Hunk was an Alpha too.

Hunk was a bit of an anomaly when it came to Alphas, but unlike Lance, he didn’t seem to care, which was perplexing. He had the size and strength of an Alpha, and when he wanted to, he certainly had the leadership instincts. The thing was, he was also sweet, caring, and compassionate. No one batted an eye at him due to his appearance, not even Lance’s own family.

It was hypocritical and honestly made him a tiny bit bitter. He just wasn’t good enough.

Lance was so busy in his thoughts that he didn’t notice how close he was getting to the wall, his toe slamming into one of the grooves.

A violent curse escaped his lips as he hopped on one foot. He didn’t notice the door open nearby as he tried to calm himself by inhaling deeply. The smell of cookies and cupcakes wafted over him, and he instantly wanted to go to the source.

He stopped hopping and looked up, catching sight of a black t-shirt. His eyes trailed up, meeting Keith’s indigo ones. It took him a moment to realize that the smell was coming from _Keith_ , and he straightened up. He suddenly felt really antsy. “Is that—I mean—you smell really good?” His voice rose as if it was a question.

Keith blinked before sniffing the air himself. His nose scrunched up, though Lance didn’t know why. The sound of movement behind another door caught both of their attention, and Lance turned to look. It was coming from Pidge’s room.

He realized that only part of what he smelled was coming from Keith. He was the cookie scent, more like brown sugar and chocolate, while the sweeter smell was coming from beyond Pidge’s door.

“Lance…” Keith moved in front of him.

“Move it, Mullet.”

“You’re not going near Pidge’s room,” Keith said sternly.

Lance growled a little bit, but he didn’t lash out. “And why not?”

“You’re detoxing. Probably at the worst part. You’re an Alpha, right?”

Detoxing? Alpha? Oh. That kind of made sense. He had the last of his suppressants a while ago now. It didn’t explain what he was smelling though, or why Keith wouldn’t get out of his way. “What does that matter?” He tried to step around him, but Keith moved in his way again. Frustration welled up in him. “And what’s that smell?”

“Think,” Keith urged him. “You were smelling me a minute ago, but now you’re smelling Pidge. These doors are almost scent proof unless they’re opened, so why would her scent be so strong and you noticed it over mine?”

“Her smell is…stronger…because…” He trailed off, brow furrowing a bit before it clicked. “She’s an Omega in heat.”

Holy shit, he hated this feeling, because knowing that made him want to go down there even more, but he didn’t actually want to do that at all. The thought of trying anything with Pidge made his inner alpha disgusted. Not because there was anything wrong with her, but because she had been firmly placed in ‘sister’ territory. He did, however, feel like fighting anything that got remotely close to her.

The smell really made him want to go down there though to the point where it was painful. His blood rushed through his body, and he felt so warm and uncomfortable.

Keith stared at him, a little bit wary, but at the same time, there was a knowing look in his eyes.

“I just want to protect her,” Lance insisted.

“I believe that,” he agreed easily, and this relieved Lance more than he wanted to let on. “I also believe that you’ll end up fighting Shiro or Hunk, and if you get any closer to her smell – no matter what you _want_ to do – you’re going to end up going into a rut.”

Lance actually whimpered at the thought, and he realized that he was already startling to spiral into one. Ruts were different than heats. Where heats were regular, ruts were completely sporadic, and could last from an hour to an entire week, depending on the situation. It had only happened twice before, but never like this. He always had superb control over himself, thank you very much.

Lance’s hands started to shake. This was bad. It wasn’t like he was going to do anything to Pidge, but Keith was right, not only would he end up fighting someone, but then he’d have to deal with the sexual frustration that came with a rut.

“Hey, look at me,” Keith urged him. He grabbed Lance’s hand, and if the alpha was in his right mind, he would have been surprised. “Come on, you need to get away from here.”

Lance wanted to move, to follow him, but his instincts wanted him to go down that hall. He was going to cry, and didn’t even try to hide his combination of frustration and distress.

“Just throw me at Shiro,” he choked out. “He’ll kick my ass and put me in my place.”

“Shiro’s a Beta,” Keith said.

That startled Lance a little bit, but he didn’t miss a beat. He’d have time to think on that later. “Then Hunk. He’s an Alpha. He’d be detoxing too.”

“Shit,” Keith whispered. He stared uncertainly before familiar, fierce determination stretched across his feature.

It took Lance completely off-guard when Keith suddenly leaned up and wrapped his arms around Lance’s shoulders like he was hugging him. His hand went into Lance’s hair, and just that small bit of contact made him shiver. Keith pulled him forward, towards his neck so that his nose was close to his scent gland. What the hell? “Lance, I need you to breath. Okay? Trust me. Breathe in.”

He was struggling. On one hand, he wanted to push Keith away to go towards Pidge’s scent, because something else could be going near her, and he wanted to rip it apart. On the other hand, he knew that it was wrong and not like him at all. There was no one here that would hurt Pidge. If he had a third hand, he would say that on that one, he wanted to go back to his own room to deal with his rut before it got too bad. Having Keith close made this last one stand out a little more.

His mind was out of whack because of the detox.

Lance breathed in because he had to, not because Keith told him to. The close proximity finally let him smell Keith over Pidge once again, and his entire body tensed at the sweet scent. Of course, he should have realized that the smell of something similar to chocolate chip cookies could only come from an Omega.

Lance felt something twist inside of him, and he had to stop himself from growling. Keith was an _Omega_. A part of him had kind of been hoping that he _wasn’t_ an Alpha lately, but assumed it was anyway. Lance wasn’t one of those people that would shrug aside Betas just because they couldn’t have biological children, and weren’t quite as physically built to deal with an Alpha’s rut amongst other things. There were ways to work with that.

Two Alphas almost never ended up working well though, which was what he was _dreading_ when it came to Keith. It wasn’t something he had always felt; it was much more recent than that. So the knowledge of Keith’s dynamic made his inner Alpha obscenely excited.

Lance’s hands rose up from his sides, grasping Keith’s arms and holding them tightly when the other man tried to take a step back, taking in the smell of him. God, it was easily the best thing that he had _ever_ smelled. He could die happily right there.

Keith took a breath. “Come with me. Leave her alone. Come on.” He took a step back, though he didn’t get far with Lance’s strong grip keeping him in place.

Lance stepped forward, wanting to be closer. Though most of him was focused on Keith now, a small part of him still wanted to run towards Pidge’s room.

Keith caught onto this apparently. He shrugged off Lance’s grip, but leaned in a bit closer. “Wouldn’t you rather come spend time with me?” He wasn’t in heat, but damn, his smell was strong and enticing. Even outside of that though, Lance probably would have followed Keith anyway.

Keith grabbed his arm and led him towards Lance’s own room. Lance wasn’t really paying attention though. He just kept breathing in Keith’s sweet, amazing scent, instinctively following him wherever he went.

Lance really wanted to kiss him. He wanted to sink his teeth into the scent gland on his neck and see his stomach rounded with their children. The thought made him shudder, and he realized that he was definitely in a rut now.

He registered the fact that he was back in his own room, and his mind went wild. The part of him that was messed up with the last of the drugs leaving his system was screaming at him that an Omega led him, an Alpha in a rut, back to his room, and that could only mean one thing. Keith was an Omega, he was built to carry pups, to want them. It was only natural to give that to him, right?

Holy shit, what was he thinking? That wasn’t right at all, Lance realized. Keith was just leading him away from Pidge. He was purposely doing this, purposely using his own scents, no doubt knowing that an Alpha in a rut would not be able to help following him.

That was something that most people in his family would have found incredibly promiscuous. Actually, many people would have. It made Lance a little frustrated, but at the same time, he understood. Keith had, after all, managed to lure him away from Pidge without any violence, so it was more smart than anything else.

“Are you okay?” Keith asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Lance’s eyes roamed over his face. He had always been able to acknowledge that Keith was handsome, it was yet another reason he had been bitter (because who had the right to make a _mullet_ look good), but he had been appreciating it a lot lately. His porcelain skin, his indigo eyes, the way that stupid, black hair framed his features perfectly. Yes, he was handsome and masculine in every sense of the word, but he was also incredibly beautiful too.

He really wanted to kiss him. He took a step forward, leaning down slightly so that he was face-to-face with Keith, his nose brushing gently against his. It had always been a thing of pride for Lance that he was taller than Keith, but now that he knew that he was an Omega, his shorter, slighter frame made sense.

Watching Keith’s long eyelashes flutter instinctively from the proximity. Despite the situation, he smelled so calm and relaxed that Lance couldn’t help but follow suit. After all, if his Omega was calm, he should be calm, right?  
  
Woah, wait, backtrack that! Bad Alpha! Keith was _not_ his Omega. He still wanted to kiss him though, and part of his mind insisted on adding a ‘yet’ to the end of that statement.

Lance leaned forward, since nothing about Keith’s scent or posture implied that he was uncomfortable with this. However, just as his lips gently brushed against Keith’s, the Red Paladin’s hand came up and pressed against Lance’s chest to stop him.

The Alpha couldn’t stop the frustrated noise from leaving him.

“I know you, Lance,” Keith said, keeping his voice soft and calm. “I know you don’t actually want to do anything that would hurt anyone here. Far from it. You would do anything to keep anyone safe, so these instincts are probably killing you.” He met his gaze. “I’m going to try and help you however I can, but I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret because your detox is messing with you.”

Lance didn’t understand. “I want to kiss you though.” Irritation rushed through him as the frustrated Alpha pushed forward in his mind again. He actually wanted to do much more than kiss Keith, which had seemed like an impossible dream despite his growing attraction to him. It wasn’t even the first time that he had thought about it in recent weeks. He was just so beautiful, and the real personality beneath that cold exterior was amazing.

“No you don’t.” They may have been much closer than before, and Keith may have been interested in him for even longer than that, but he knew the truth.

Something inside of Lance picked up on the bit of sadness to Keith’s voice and he did not at all like that. Alphas were supposed to make their Omegas happy, not sad. That part of him was the one that decided to act next.

Keith gasped, hands reaching out and grasping Lance’s shirt as the Alpha pushed him backwards. It wasn’t rough, it was just unexpected. So was the fact that Lance clamoured on top of him, keeping his weight off of him and on his forearms and knees, face hovering just over Keith’s.

There was little aggression in Lance’s scent, but Keith was still a little alarmed by this. He could feel Lance’s breath running across his skin, and couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

Lance couldn’t help but smirk slightly at Keith’s shiver. He inhaled deeply, still loving the scent, but it was changing, becoming sour and bitter.

It took Lance a moment to place the smell, but when it did, it genuinely surprised him. Keith, their impulsive, fearless Red Paladin, was _scared_.

He scrambled off of Keith immediately, flailing back until his back hit the metal wall. “Oh my god. What did I do? Holy shit. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have pinned you! Holy shit I wanted to make you happy and not sad anymore and that is not at all what I meant to do. Oh my god. Shit, I’m sorry!”

Keith pushed himself up, eyeing Lance. He sighed and moved forward, prompting the Blue Paladin to inch more towards the door. Alarm shot through him. “No! You can’t smell Pidge in here!”

Pidge. Right. Keith brought him here so that her powerful pheromones wouldn’t make things worse for him. Not to mention the fact that Hunk would probably be nearby soon and two Alphas in close proximity while detoxing was bad. Especially since there was an Omega they’d both like to protect in heat. Not to mention the Omega with him that Lance really wasn’t willing to share.

Lance whimpered as he hugged himself and tried not to cry. He was unsuccessful. “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “You’re right, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I always have good control but I just…I lose it around you. So you should get out and lock it from the outside.”

Keith’s brow furrowed, and he shifted closer, guilt overpowering the fear. “No, I’m the one that’s sorry. I led you back here. I led you on. It’s not your fault you’re reacting this way and I—I wasn’t afraid of _you_. I trust you.”

A second whimper tore from Lance’s throat. “You do? I just…I just pushed you down. And you were afraid.”  
  
“But you didn’t _do_ anything,” Keith said. “Again, I’m not afraid of you. I just…I’m still sorry. I baited you. I think I’d be surprised if you _weren’t_ a bit aggressive. I—I’m an Omega, right? That’s what matters.” That was really the only thing about him that seemed to matter to anyone else, and that was why he was afraid. How was he supposed to say that he was afraid of letting Lance in, afraid of how much he _wanted_ to let Lance in, when he knew he was just the closest Omega around (aside from Pidge)?

Lance narrowed his eyes, smelling the distress and not liking it. He was good at picking up on some details, and he got the feeling he knew where Keith was going with that. “Are you kidding me? You’re not just any Omega. What the hell?” Keith’s heat shot up, his eyes wide. Bullseye, the sharpshooter strikes again. “When I say I have good control, I have good control. Sure flirting is fun as hell, but I wouldn’t try anything, rut or not, if I didn’t want to do that with someone.”

Keith blinked his indigo eyes with surprise, a look that sent Lance’s insides into a bit of a tizzy because it was _cute_. He tried to smile, but it came across as so fake that it was almost painful. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know. I actually _do_ know what I am and—and if it helps you, I’m okay with that. If I can do something to help, I should, right?”  
  
Lance’s eyebrows both shot up, before he narrowed his eyes. “What exactly do you think that we think you are?”

He looked away. “An Omega that baited an Alpha back to a room. One that—that isn’t…right. That isn’t worth it. If you weren’t detoxing, you’d realize it too.”

Confusion rushed through Lance. He didn’t understand what Keith meant exactly. He stared at him, taking in the way Keith had crossed his arms in front of him, the scent of shame wafting off of him. Then it clicked. Someone had put that thought in Keith’s head. Someone at one point had probably called him a tease or a slut, someone had probably told him that he wasn’t a proper Omega.

A growl ripped from Lance’s throat, startling Keith. “Listen, Mullet. I know you’re stubborn, but you need to latch onto my every goddamn word. You are _not_ just a convenient Omega. I can goddamn well take care of this rut on my own, but you know, I actually _like_ the thought of you being here. Not because you’re an Omega, but because you’re _you_. Do you get it? I don’t want to kiss you because you’re an Omega. I want to kiss you because you’re Keith!” He took a deep breath. “I also really want to fight whoever it was that hurt you.” He really, really did.

“Since when?” Keith breathed out, looking rather stunned by the proclamation.

“I know I’ve been a jerk at times, but I—I dunno. I mean, physically, you’re hot as hell. Never doubt that.” Lance felt pride rush through him as Keith’s cheeks flushed again. “And I—I guess lately things have been better? And we’ve been training and getting along better? And I realized you’re actually pretty fun to be around and I like hanging out with you? It makes me really happy?”

Keith’s eyes were wide, his cheeks were becoming redder by the second, and holy shit if he wasn’t the most beautiful thing Lance had ever seen. He placed his hands on Keith’s cheeks, leaning in close to him again. “I really want to kiss _you_ , but not if it scares you.” Maybe if Keith decided to leave, he’d leave behind something with his scent to help him out. That didn’t seem like too much to ask. Where was his jacket?

Indigo eyes studied him, before he quietly asked, “Do I smell scared?”

No, he didn’t. Not really. There was still some underlying scent that Lance didn’t like, but he got the feeling that it had nothing to do with right here and right now, and more to do with whatever had gotten underneath Keith’s skin to make him feel like he wasn’t a good enough Omega.

Huh, of all the things Lance thought he’d have in common with Keith, those hidden insecurities weren’t one of them. Maybe they could work on that together.

Keith leaned up, closing the distance between them. Lance hummed, warmth rushing through him as their lips brushed against one another, sweet and soft. One of Lance’s hands slid into Keith’s hair, while the Omega’s hands grasping onto the fabric covering his shoulders.

They broke away from one another slowly, not going very far. Lance opened his eyes and stared back down at him. “Wow.”

Once again, Keith’s pale cheeks flushed vibrantly. He bit his lip, and asked, “You okay?”

Oh hell, that expression was enough to have more blood rushing south. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Keith, pulling him so that they were flush against one another. “Yeah.” He was a little dizzy, because an hour ago he felt sick, irritated, and confused. Now he had an incredibly attractive Omega, one that he had been thinking about courting, pressed up against him. It was amazing and terrifying. “I’m good.”

“Is there anything else I can do to help?”

Oh shit, Lance really wished he hadn’t asked. He whimpered a bit, knowing what those primal instincts that were so often buried inside of him were clawing their way to the surface. That aspect of him _really_ wanted to mark and mate with the handsome Omega below him. Especially after seeing this softer, more vulnerable side of Keith that he normally kept hidden.

“Don’t ask that,” Lance said with an almost painful laugh. “My biggest problem is about to get even bigger if you do.”

It took a moment for Keith to catch on, and Lance expected to see his already red cheeks burn darker when he did, but instead, Keith raised an eyebrow and stared at him dryly. “Eh, not _that_ big of a problem.”

This time, it took Lance a moment to catch on, and when he did, he was insulted. “What the hell? Yeah it’s a _big_ problem.”

“Uh huh.”

“Any other Omega in this situation would be begging to see it.”

“Sure they would.”

Holy shit, Lance really wanted to kiss Keith again. He didn’t know what it was about this attitude that drew him in, it shouldn’t have, but here they were. “I really, _really_ want to kiss you again. Like, a lot.”

“Lance,” Keith said evenly. “I have my knife on me. If I wasn’t okay with this, we wouldn’t be talking right now.”

Lance couldn’t stop himself from laughing at that. This Omega was something else, and it was absolutely thrilling.

One hand went to Keith’s chin to lift his head up, sealing their lips together again. The Omega responded instantly, tilting his head slightly and practically melting into him. Lance was sure that he could die happily now. The hormone-fuelled part of his mind reminded him that this wasn’t the happiest he could be, and the thought sent shivers up his spine.

Keith’s lips parted, tongue shyly brushing against Lance’s lips. He responded instantly, pulling him closer as warmth rushed through him. Keith chirped lightly, and Lance groaned in response.

He wasn’t sure who had moved first, but the next thing Lance knew, they were tumbling down, Keith landing on the bed, and Lance on top of him, fully pressed against him this time.

It was hard, but Lance pulled away from him a bit. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Keith was just as out of breath as he was, something that made the Blue Paladin very proud. His control was slowly slipping, and he wanted to make sure that they were both okay and on the same page.

“I—I don’t want to hurt you,” Lance said.

Keith put his hands on his shoulders, and looked almost amused. “Lance, you won’t hurt me.”

“But my rut—”

“Hasn’t made you hurt me yet,” he pointed out. “I—I’m okay with this. I’m not anywhere near my heat, so we’re good. And if you don’t want to, well that’s okay. We can do whatever you want.” Lance was still hesitating, before Keith added, “I told you, I can still hand your ass to you if I need to.”

That made Lance laugh loudly. That was incredibly true. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he leaned down, brushing his lips along Keith’s neck, feeling his breath hitch.

Lance absolutely knew what he wanted in that moment. It was something that had been on his mind a lot lately, fuelled with denial that seemed ridiculous in retrospect.  
  
“Whatever I want?” Lance repeated again Keith’s neck. He rocked his hips against Keith’s earning a soft groan.

“No mating marks,” Keith breathed out.

Lance blinked with surprise at the request. The idea of _wanting_ to mark Keith had occurred to him, but that was more like an instinctual, in-the-future thing. It wasn’t something that he had truly considered for right now. Then again, he’d already established that Keith hadn’t met the best Alphas in the past. Some would absolutely take advantage of a situation like this.

He didn’t want that though. Lance _liked_ Keith. Liked him quite a bit, actually. Knowing that he was an Omega made Lance want to court him properly (which Hunk insisted he was already doing but whatever), even if they were getting off to a very strange start. “That’s fair.” Keith breathily chuckled, and Lance shivered as he felt it rush by his ear.

He pulled away slightly so that he could meet Keith’s eyes. He studied the indigo irises, searching for any hesitation. That was important, because the Red Paladin that he butted heads with from time to time (less so now than before), was offering to help him through his rut by having sex with him. It was kind of a big thing.

There wasn’t any fear or hesitation though. Keith was sure about this.  
  
“I want you,” he blurted out.

Lance barely caught a small smile tipping along Keith’s lips before the Omega pulled him close, meeting him half way in a searing kiss.

…

When Shiro had graduated from being a cadet at the Garrison, he had very quickly opted to stop taking his suppressants. Going through the detox had been a hell of sickness and aggression, but it was worth it in the end. Those things could ruin someone. At least he didn’t have suppressed ruts or heats.

Fighting one’s biological urges never really worked out.

Before the Kerberos mission, he had seen some of his Garrison friends who happened to be Alphas go through a bad detox. It wasn’t limited to Alphas and Omegas though – Betas could have it rough. Poor Matt Holt, who was a Beta like him, had been sick for nearly a week. It was better than it happening on the space shuttle, or on Kerberos.

So while he couldn’t _exactly_ understand what Hunk was going through, at least not all of its aspects, he could still sympathize with him. He understood the sickness, the aggression, and the sheer annoyance of what his body was going through. He didn’t know what it was like to go into a rut, and but he had seen it happen.  

Even worse, he had seen two Alphas who were very close friends start to detox, and the aggression pitted them against one another. The fight and outcome had been _terrifying_ , with both of them highly injured, and a friendship completely ruined.  
  
They didn’t have the luxury of allowing Hunk and Lance to break, even for just a while. Voltron couldn’t handle it. Normally, Shiro wouldn’t worry about this, but with Pidge being in heat too, and all of their sleep quarters close to one another, it was like a ticking time bomb. Surly they would understand if he just locked them in their rooms for a week, right?

Hunk had noticed Pidge’s scent earlier, and it take taken Shiro a little bit to convince the Alpha to go into his own room. He had wanted to stand guard outside of her door. On one hand, bless Hunk and his protective instincts. On the other, it had been a bit trying to get him back into his room.

Hunk had growled at him, and then proceeded to look horrified, apologizing over and over, but also not wanting to move from his spot in front of Pidge’s door. It was only after Shiro swore over and over that he’d protect Pidge that he finally got Hunk to agree to go to his room.

And that had only been the early morning. He had yet to find Lance, which was a bit worrying since he would have been farther along in his detox than Hunk. It was moments like this that he really wished that his sense of smell was working properly.

He slumped against the wall and pressed his fingers against the corner of his eyes. He had been looking for Lance all over after not finding him in his room earlier, and figured that maybe he had missed him and he should check again. Before that though, he had a promise to keep.

He knocked on the door gently. “Pidge? It’s Shiro. You don’t have to open the door, but are you okay?”

He didn’t hear anything, and risked a peek inside of the room. She was sleeping peacefully, curled up inside of her haphazardly thrown together nest. A rush of affection rushed through him, and he made sure that the door was closed behind him as he left. 

He did a tally of everyone on board. Allura had been talking to the mice in the lounge the last he saw. Coran was checking over the teleduv. Hunk was resting in his room. Pidge was asleep in her room. Keith was—

Shiro’s entire body tensed he realized that he had no idea where Keith was either. His pulse instantly picked up as he looked towards Keith’s door. His mind instantly went back to what Hunk said about Lance’s feelings towards Keith. Yes, Shiro meant it when he assured the other Alpha that Keith could handle himself, but he still saw the Red Paladin as his younger brother.

He reached Keith’s door and knocked. He waited for a moment, before peering in like he had with Pidge. Keith wasn’t there, but maybe he should have checked the training deck first.

Instead of just rushing down there, he decided to check again to see if Lance was in his room. He knocked, but yet again, no one answered him. He was really getting tired of not getting any kind of answer.

Once again, Shiro decided to peer inside. At first, he was incredibly confused. Both Lance and Keith were inside, laying in Lance’s bed. Keith was curled up against Lance’s side, head resting on his chest, while Lance’s arm was wrapped around him securely.  

Then Shiro saw the discarded clothes on the floor, and a protective anger rushed through him.

This was _exactly_ what he had feared. His little brother, his _Omega_ little brother, having an Alpha take advantage of him.

He took a step forward, stopping as Keith shifted, looking around at Shiro with a stern expression. He gave a sharp shake of his head and motioned for him to go into the hall, holding up a finger to indicate he’d be out in a minute.

Shiro left the room, but stood in the hall with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He narrowed his eyes as Keith stumbled out of the room, his shirt and pants hastily thrown on. Though Shiro’s sense of smell was absolute shit now, he could still smell Lance all over his brother. It was faint to him, but probably would have been impossible for Pidge or Hunk to miss.

They stared at one another before Shiro said, “Well?”

Keith crossed his arms, and lifted his chin challengingly. “Well what? Detox sent him into a rut, and Pidge’s scent didn’t help.” Shiro bristled a bit, and Keith sent him a harsh look. “He wasn’t going to hurt Pidge. I wanted to keep Lance and Hunk away from one another too.”

“So, what? You offered to have sex with him as a distraction?” Shiro was not happy with this turn of events.

Indigo eyes narrowed dangerous, and Shiro knew he was talking a fine line. Keith respected him and was obedient even though he wasn’t an Alpha, but that didn’t mean that Shiro couldn’t screw up too. He knew that he was very close to that.

“It’s not like that,” Keith snapped, before hesitating. “Well, maybe a bit, but not how you’re thinking. It’s not like Lance forced himself on me or anything. He didn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to do. You know Lance, and you know me.”

“Keith,” Shiro said sternly.

“What? We both agreed to it. We’re both adults. I’m not close to my heat, so it’s not like I can get pregnant. So what’s the problem?”

Shiro had to take a deep breath to calm himself, because Keith had some very good points. “I know you’re an adult and that you can make your own choices. I just…worry about you. You’re like my little brother.” He reached forward and put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I know you like Lance. You have for a while. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Keith hunched in on himself slightly. Shiro knew that he was strong, he could take physical pain like non-other, but emotional pain was something entirely different. He knew Lance could get nasty at times, though it seemed defensive more than anything else. He just didn’t want them to hurt one another.

“I’ll be okay,” Keith assured him, but all of the fight had left him. He understood where Shiro was coming from.  

“Alright,” he agreed. “But if you need _anything_ , if something goes wrong, come to me, okay? Anything at all.”  
  
“I will,” Keith assured him.

Shiro nodded, and was about to leave, but stopped and said, “Given what happened between you and Lance, I would avoid contact with Hunk for a little while.”

Keith thought on that before grimacing. He could see how that would end badly. “I planned on staying with Lance anyway.”

Shiro sighed again. “I trust you to keep Pidge, Lance, and everyone else safe, but you need to stay safe too, understand?”

Keith nodded his head, and turned back to the room. He went back inside quickly, the door closing behind him.

Shiro waited a moment before leaving. He wasn’t an Alpha, but he was still a little put-off by the fact that his unmated younger brother smelled so much like an Alpha that he could pick it up with his minimal sense of smell, but then his rationality took over again.

The first thing he knew was that Keith had a hard time growing up. He didn’t let others in easily.

 The second thing he knew was that Keith had tried to let Lance in before, but unintentionally got rejected. The third thing he knew was that Lance didn’t _know_ why that would have hurt Keith so much, or that it did in the first place.

The fourth thing was that Keith liked Lance more than he admitted out loud. Shiro could see it in the way the Red Paladin looked at him. He was the most expressive person that he knew.

The fifth thing that he knew was that Lance had been returning those looks lately when he thought that no one was looking. They were both honestly so pathetic.

The sixth thing that he knew was that Lance, though not perfect by any means, was a good person at heart, and he was proud of how much the Blue Paladin had matured over their time in space.

The seventh thing that he knew was that Keith and Lance could be very, very good for one another. They weren’t complete opposites, but they filled in the gaps for one another in the best ways. They fought, but disagreements were okay, actually healthy if handled properly.

A small smile appeared on Shiro’s face, and he started walking away from the room. They all deserved a little bit of happiness.

…

Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the door closed behind him. He wasn’t embarrassed about what he just happened, he didn’t at all regret his actions, he was just a little bit overwhelmed.

Good things didn’t happen to him. When they did, they ended up crashing and burning. He _liked_ Lance, and if they did continue on with this and things did end badly (because they always did for him), it would be bad for Voltron, for the universe.

Maybe he should just leave, go back to his room before anything happened.

“Stop thinking so hard.”

He jumped a bit at Lance’s voice, looking up at the Alpha still lazily sprawled out in his bed. “What?”  
  
“You’re thinking so hard that I can smell it from over here.” He held out a hand, blue eyes still tired. “C’mere.”

Despite his earlier thoughts, he didn’t hesitate in pushing off the door and heading towards Lance. He reached out and took his hand, a bit surprised when the Blue Paladin tugged him down.

“Hi there,” Lance said, batting his eyes at him. He then raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down. “Well, you’re certainly wearing too many clothes.”

Keith actually snorted, rolling his eyes, but a smile spread across his lips. “Subtle.” He couldn’t keep the smile on his face though.

Lance’s silly expression faded into a serious one. “Hey, are you good?” He reached a hand up, running it through Keith’s hair. He paused. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Keith said, humming slightly. “I just…” It was hard to get his thoughts out. He looked ashamed. This is probably something he should talk about. “Good things don’t stick with me. I mean…they always end up badly.”

Lance seemed to contemplate this for a moment before slowly nodding his head. He ran his fingers through Keith’s hair again, his other hand pressing against Keith’s cheek. “Well, I guess we have to work hard to make sure that they don’t, right? I mean, if you want this to, you know, continue?”

That answered stunned Keith a bit. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Prying? Joking? Lance shrugging off his fears? Not acknowledgement, acceptance, and the willingness to work with him.

Then again, when it came down to the important things, they were a good team.

“Yeah,” Keith answered.

Lance looked like Keith had given him the world, his eyes were bright, there was a huge smile on his face, and his smell made Keith’s eyes flutter a bit.

He focused again when Lance moved on top of him. He wiggled his eyebrows dramatically. “Now we really do need to get those off of you. Black skinny jeans may make your ass look awesome, but for sleeping? No.”

“I always sleep in the jeans I wore the day before.”

The high pitched whine of distress that left Lance’s throat sounded more like a sound Keith could make at his worst (like when Coran had tried to touch his shoulder when he was in his nest). “No.”

“What? It just means I’m ready to go if someone attacks,” Keith said, feeling a bit defensive.

“They say you shouldn’t try to change someone you care about,” Lance noted, more like he was talking to something in the distance. “But see, I have just realized that I _really_ like snuggling with you.” Keith felt warmth rush over his cheeks, and Lance ran his fingers across the flushed skin. “But not the jeans. Therefore, I apologize, but it is now my mission to make sure you dress properly for bed.” He paused and grinned. “Or just naked. I have _no_ issues with that at all.” Keith groaned in annoyance and he laughed. “Fine. Boxers then.”

With an oddly dramatic sigh, Keith rolled out of the bed and stood up. He kicked his jeans off before tugging the shirt away, and then falling back beside him. “Happy?”

“Yeah, but you really gotta work on your presentation. That wasn’t much of a show.” Keith smacked him with a pillow, and Lance laughed loudly. He managed to tug the pillow away, grabbing a hold of Keith and twisting around so that he was pinned between the wall and Lance, who was now all twisted in the blankets. “Good. Your clothes smelled a bit like Shiro.”  
  
“That’s bull. Shiro’s a Beta. He barely has a smell.”

“And I’m still in a bit of a rut.” Lance nuzzled his face against Keith’s neck. “I noticed the smell on you the second I woke up.”

Keith blinked, but then remembered that Alphas tended to get a bit possessive over Omegas, especially after sleeping with them. It really wasn’t their fault, it was instincts, and the majority didn’t act on it. If Lance needed to act a little bit cuddly and silly, that was fine. Keith had sex with him, had agreed that he wanted to continue whatever this was with him. He’d be a tiny bit insulted if Lance _wasn’t_ feeling a bit possessive.

“You don’t need to worry, you know,” Keith assured him. “It’s not like I’m going to run off with anyone else. I’m not—I’m not like that. It’s not like I’m going to go offer to go and…I dunno…sleep with Hunk or something.” Not that Hunk wasn’t attractive, he really was. The fact that Keith had developed feelings for _Lance_ and not Hunk had actually been something he thought about. He never came up with a reason why, but it didn’t really matter.

Lance’s smell began to sour a little bit, his shoulders tensing slightly. Keith had obviously said the wrong thing, though he didn’t know what it was. “Lance?”

“Why wouldn’t you? Hunk is handsome, tall, muscular, kind, he can cook, he’s a literal ray of sunshine honestly. He’s everything someone could want with an Alpha, since he doesn’t have any of the bad with it.”

That startled Keith a bit. His brow pinched, and he realized that he was seeing something that was a little bit deeper than an alpha detoxing and in a rut being insecure about another Alpha. This was something else.

“Yeah,” Keith admitted, “but I wanted to be _here_ , didn’t I?” Honestly, it might have been mean, but if it was Hunk, he probably would have just lured him back to his room and locked him in there.

Lance look at him almost doubtfully, and Keith pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Looks like I have to work hard to make sure you know you’re good enough.”

His expression softened, and a playful smile suddenly appeared on his face. “Aw look at you, being a good Omega and learning from your strong, handsome Alpha.”

Okay, he was definitely trying to cover up something with the joking attitude, but Keith would let it slide for now. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. “Idiot Alpha.” He flicked his nose, and Lance yelped. Keith chuckled at that.

His chuckles turned into outright laughter as Lance seemed to explode into motion, struggling to untangle himself from the blankets. He looked so ridiculous that Keith was nearly in tears. He couldn’t recall the last time he had laughed this hard.

Somehow, he ended up back under the blankets with Lance hovering over him. The Alpha tried to hide his own smile, but Keith could see it twitching at the edge of his lips. “You’re not supposed to laugh at your Alphas. Supposed to respect them.”

“Make me,” Keith replied tauntingly. He snickered at Lance’s stunned expression. He should have expected that, because since when did Keith ever back down from a challenge.

Lance seemed to realize this, and a predatory look that almost made Keith shudder crossed his face. A playful growl escaped his lips. “Oh, I will.” He buried his face in Keith’s neck and blew raspberries against his skin, setting him off into another fit of laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got finished this one much, much earlier than I thought I would, and figured that it was appropriate to post on Valentine's Day, given the contents. (Also hell yeah season 5 trailer!) In general though, I can see updates coming maybe about once a week. That's my goal. Sometimes I may be able to get more, we'll see.
> 
> I'm really glad you guys like this so far! I was a bit nervous about it, to be honest!
> 
> And yes, I do like Keith/Lance, but I like the type where they're both individuals that grow and change in their own ways and aren't just there to be love interests or one dimensional characters. (I'm not being passive aggressive against a specific person, I swear. It's just a general thing I've seen)


	3. Team Building

Sometimes it was easy for Allura to forget that she had been locked away in cryosleep over 10,000 years. Sometimes it was easy for her not to forget those she lost, but to see how she could keep going with the allies that she had gained.

Yet, sometimes she just wanted to lock herself back in the pod and wait another 10,000 years. Surely humans would be more evolved by that point, right? At least then she would have to deal with this tense stare-down between Lance and Hunk.

It was quite ridiculous, in her mind. Coran had taken Allura aside to explain what was going on with the humans, and how things would probably be changing between them soon. That was fine, since really there were so many different species in the universe, and she found it absolutely fascinating. She _wanted_ to learn more about humans.  
  
She also wanted these two to just calm down. She could deal with the idea that Keith and Pidge had to go through something called ‘heats’ every three phoebs, give or take. It happened with other species too (though she still was a tad bit surprised that _Keith_ of all people could carry children). It actually made sense to her that Shiro would be the sort of neutral party between them all, the one that could keep the peace. She could not deal with these two, who were very close friends, looking like they were about to ‘throw hands’, as Pidge had said.

It was bad enough that they were heading towards this base for the Blade of Marmora. She couldn’t accept the idea that there were Galra on their side still.

Her mind flashed to a time when she was younger, laughing as she played with a boy that had dark skin like hers and Galra-purple Altean markings, his hair an almost greyish colour. She pushed that thought away. There was no time for memories about childhood playmates that were probably dead.

Even if she knew for a fact that his father was still alive.

“Enough!” Allura stood up and slammed her palm down on the table, causing everyone to jump. “I understand that this is some kind of human thing, but we are quickly approaching a potential trap and we all need to be on the same page.” She narrowed her eyes at them. “I _expect_ this to be sorted out before we arrive.”

“Princess,” Shiro said soothingly. “It’s—“

“Yes, yes, you’re working out pack dynamics, which takes a bit of a time even if the people are close.” She waved her hand at him. “You’ve explained that. However, you must not forget that you are _more_ than just a pack. You are the Paladins of Voltron, and Shiro is your leader in that regard.” She tilted her head up slightly. “And though Altea no longer exists, this is _my_ castle. Do not forget that.” She honestly hated using that against them, but they needed to see reason.

“Allura is right,” Coran said helpfully. “I’m sure that you can figure things out. You’ve all come so far already!” Bless Coran and his ability to spin her temper tantrums into the positive light she wanted them to be.

Shiro had an accepting expression on his face, something she appreciated. She got along with him because he was so reasonable.

A look at Pidge told her that the girl was trying hard not to laugh at the fact that she was scolding them, well, mostly just Lance and Hunk. This was the first time that she had been out of her room in a movement – the first time that all of them had been together for dinner.

Honestly, that was part of her frustration too. Allura had found herself _missing_ her human companions over the past movement. The only one that she had the time to talk to was Shiro, which was a good thing, but she still missed the others too. Hunk and Lance were such good frienda; she didn’t want this to permanently ruin anything between them.

Hunk looked down at his food almost shamefully, though he was still eating rather aggressively. Lance stared at Hunk, his entire body tense.

Keith muttered something that Allura couldn’t hear, but it definitely caught Lance’s attention. He sunk down a bit in his chair, ears turning red.

That was something really interesting that came out of the past week, Allura supposed. She would take anything over Keith and Lance constantly at each other’s throats, but this was almost sweet in a way. Nothing had _really_ changed, but they seemed to hover around one another more, and somehow, Keith’s presence seemed to keep Lance in check when he was at his most aggressive. It was a little bit strange, since Keith wasn’t known for being soothing, especially when it came to Lance.

Allura was sure that they’d be good for one another, and it was nice to know that if something happened to cause this type of aggression in Lance, there was at least one person they could easily turn to.

Though to be fair, at the moment, Keith looked like he was almost _stabbing_ his food goo like he was using a knife and giving Lance a _very_ pointed look. That might have had something to do with it.

“We’ll get this figured out, Princess” Shiro assured her. “Everything will be fine by the time we arrive at the Blade of Marmora’s base.”

Allura nodded her head towards him. “I hope so.” She really wanted her friends back to normal.

…

Pidge knew that there were many different types of intelligence, and many different ways to show it. Hunk was incredibly smart, though he tended to keep this on the down-low just because he didn’t think it was a big deal. Judging from the rumours around the Garrison, and how thorough he was when doing research on the Blue Lion, Keith seemed to be highly intelligent, but only when something interested him. Lance wasn’t stupid by any means, but his greatest strength was the effort he put into trying to do better. Shiro, likewise, wasn’t over the top brilliant, but he was good with people and planning.

That was why she thought his decision to get them all into their armour, their wonderfully scent-proof armour, was beyond brilliant. It made her feel stupid for not thinking of it as soon as Hunk and Lance started to get weird around one another.

They were all on the training deck to figure this out. There was no doubting that they were a pack. That was something that they had accepted fairly quickly after going into space, even though Hunk and Lance were on suppressants. They all accepted Shiro as their Pack Leader, but Keith and Pidge were Omegas, and Shiro was a Beta. Out of everyone who could smell and react to the scents and pheromones, Shiro would have been the one in charge.

Things would have been so much easier if Lance and Hunk had been Betas as well. Things would have continued on the same. They weren’t though and it couldn’t. Their instincts wouldn’t allow it. Shiro was the team leader of Voltron, but since there were two Alphas, one of _them_ had to be their Pack Leader.

Pidge was honestly glad that Hunk and Lance were such good friends. Any other set of Alphas would have been at each other’s throats. Instead, they were just tense and glaring at one another.  
  
“Alright,” she spoke up, clapping her hands together. She was tired of this already and wanted it to end. “There’s clearly only one way we can settle this.”  
  
Shiro looked at her with interest, dark grey eyes curious. “Go ahead.”

She cleared he throat, amber eyes looking from Hunk, to Lance, and then to Shiro. They honestly looked ridiculous, the two Alphas standing several feet away from one another with Shiro acting as a moderator. The tension and hostility was palpable, and made her almost want to laugh for some odd reason.

“Whip ‘em out and measure ‘em,” she said cheerfully.  
  
“Pidge!” Hunk and Lance both yelled.

“I mean, we’ll need a judge,” she continued, ignoring their outburst and the way Shiro looked towards the ceiling as if asking for god to smite him. “Just to make sure there’s no real arguing.” She levelled a look at the Red Paladin, who was standing a bit away with his arms crossed. “Can’t be Keith, he’d be biased.”

She was a bit disappointed when he didn’t get all flustered. Instead, he just raised an eyebrow and said, “No I wouldn’t.”

“Keith!” Lance cried out, looking scandalized.

“Okay, no,” Shiro spoke up. “Pants are staying on.” He shot Pidge an unimpressed look.  
  
She smiled at him innocently, _knowing_ that she looked the picture of a pure, sweet teenage girl in awesome armour. “What? I don’t hear you guys coming up with anything better.”

“Well…”  
  
“Fight it out,” Keith interrupted with a shrug.

Pidge snorted. “Why does it not at all surprise me that that’s your suggestion?”

He nudged her gently. “What? That’s what ends up happening most of the time.”

She thought about that. Historically speaking, that _was_ how Pack Leaders were usually chosen.  She turned towards the Blue and Yellow Paladins. “Point. Okay boys, duke it out.”

“No one’s duking it out!” Shiro yelled, clearly done with all of them. Pidge was a bit surprised that he actually seemed really annoyed. He took a few deep breaths before saying, “Okay, right. Hunk and Lance, I need both of you to come over here and we’re going to sit and talk about exactly what’s happening. Keith, Pidge, you two are very important to this pack and your opinions matter, but I think it’s best if you give them a bit of space. Your scents are blocked, but still.”

Keith shrugged slightly. “Come on, Pidge. You asked to go over some hand-to-hand. We can work on that.”

That was not at all what she wanted to do, but figured that she might as well go along with it. After all, it’d be fun to tease Keith a little bit about his apparent relationship with Lance.

They walked away from the others, and as soon as she was sure that they wouldn’t be heard, she asked, “So.”  
  
“Pidge.”

“What?” She smiled sweetly. “I just wanted to ask if you were able to get Lance’s scent out of your clothes. It was really strong this morning.”

“You’re terrible,” he replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but his pink cheeks giving him away.

Pidge snickered a bit and said, “You know I’m just teasing, right? I am really happy for the two of you.”

“Thanks,” Keith replied almost shyly. He straightened his shoulders and said, “Right. Lets start working with breaking out of holds. That’d probably be the most useful thing for you.”

“Alright,” she sighed dramatically. “Teach away.”

…

Hunk hated this. He hated feeling so annoyed and a bit angry at his own best friend.

When he was younger, his mother and father, two wonderful women that he adored to no end, taught him all about dynamics. They wanted to make sure that he knew about all of them fairly, not by the stereotypes that many swore by.

It wasn’t a common outlook to _want_ to be a Beta, but he had desperately wanted that. When he had presented as an Alpha, he had actually cried, only for his parents to soothe him.

“Your dynamic doesn’t make you who you are, Henare,” his Tamā told him. “You get to decide how you handle your instincts and your urges. You decide who you are.”  
  
“What so many people forget,” his Tinā added, “is that, no matter what, family and pack are the most important things. We all must share and cooperate with one another. Every person has an important role, no matter their dynamic.”

He had taken those lessons, amongst many others, to heart. Yet something inside of Hunk really wanted to step up this time. Every instinct and urge inside of him screamed it. This was something he could do for his space family.  
  
Nothing was more important, after all.

“Look,” Shiro said. “This whole thing is pretty unexpected. Instincts led us to naturally form a pack, now instincts are telling both of you that you have to be the one to protect and take care of that pack. That’s actually a good thing. It means that we can always count on both of you. Here’s what I propose to start. We can each give you a certain ‘area’ on the ship that’s basically your territory, but remember, it all belongs to Allura. Of course, you can go into each other’s space, but just respect where you are. That’ll help ease some tension.”

“That’s actually a really good idea,” Hunk said, perking up a bit. His inner Alpha was pleased by this turn of events. Without the scents of everyone else around him, he could think a little straighter, and shame welled up within him. He turned towards Lance and said, “I’m sorry about the way I was acting. I didn’t mean to get all snarly with you.”  
  
“Yeah, me too,” Lance replied, a guilty smile appearing on his face.

“Shiro, maybe you should just be Pack Leader,” Hunk said, looking towards the beta. “I mean, you’re the head of Voltron anyway, so…” He shrugged helplessly and looked at Lance.

“No.” Shiro smiled at them. “I’m the only Beta here. I need to be able to go and help whoever needs to most at the time. That’s what I do. It would be a disadvantage for me to be Pack Leader when we have two able alphas.”

“That’s what the Pack Leader’s supposed to do anyway though,” Lance pointed out.

Shiro nodded his head. “Lance, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but do you genuinely think you could be objective when it comes down to it?”

Hunk blinked with surprise at the question before looking towards the other Alpha. Despite Shiro’s request, Lance did, indeed, look offended. “Of course I could!”

Holding up his hands as a sign of peace, he said, “I’m not doubting your abilities to be a good leader. I think you have the makings of a great one in you. What I’m wondering is if you wouldn’t rather focus on something more specific right now?”

“Huh?” Lance’s eyebrows rose up high.

Shiro looked over to where Keith was teaching Pidge to get out of certain holds. Hunk followed his gaze, understanding crossing his face. He couldn’t hide the silly smile that appeared as he looked towards his friend, “I think he’s talking about Keith.”

“I am,” Shiro confirmed, a small smile appearing on his face. “It’s pretty rare for someone to become pack leader _and_ start courting an Omega the same time. It usually happens one after another so there’s some stability. All of your instincts are gearing up to put him first. It’ll even out eventually, but not this soon.”

Lance looked over towards Pidge and Keith, all of the defensiveness fading away. He suddenly chuckled before looking over at Hunk. “You know, this whole thing is so stupid, isn’t it?”  
  
“Really stupid,” Hunk agreed.  
  
“Like, why would we have to challenge one another about this? We’re friends. We’re part of the same pack and want the same things, right?”

“Exactly!” Hunk paused, eyebrows raising up. “Wait, what are you saying?”

A goofy smirk appeared on his face. “You get the pack. I get the hot omega. Seems fair.”

“That,” Shiro spoke up, an unimpressed look on his face, “is my brother you’re talking about.”

Lance’s silly smile disappeared and he cleared his throat, looking almost shyly at Hunk. “And honestly, buddy, I feel like you’d be the perfect Pack Leader. I feel like all of us, including me, can rely on you in so many ways. You were the one to apologize first, to realize how dumb the tension was just because, what? Instincts are driving us nuts? Nah.” He shook his head. “Shiro’s right, I’m a bit too biased right now.” He smiled warmly. “Besides, who can provide food for the pack better than you?”

Hunk couldn’t stop himself from bursting into laughter at Lance’s words. He reached forward, pulling his smaller friend into a tight hug.

It didn’t hit him until they all went their separate ways that he, Henare Tui, was the leader of the most amazing pack in outer space. 

…

Lance’s skincare routine was incredibly important to him, and he had been skimping on it over the past week. It wasn’t on purpose, it was just really hard to focus on something else when the suppressants finally left his system entirely, his rut vanishing with it, and leaving him sick and twitchy instead.

That was why he made sure to religiously follow it that night. It wasn’t just because he liked the way it made him look; he liked the way it made him feel. It was relaxing, like a treat for himself.

Some people used to tease him, saying that only ‘girls and Omegas did that’, but Lance was willing to bet Keith had never seen a moisturizer in his life so there was that.

Speaking of the Omega, Lance caught his scent hovering outside of his door. He waited for a moment to see if he’d come in, before sauntering over and opening the door himself. “Well, hello there. What brings you here?” He tried to wiggle his eyebrows, but the facemask he had on made him too stiff.

Keith looked completely taken aback. He shifted awkwardly before asking, “Can I…uh…come in?”  
  
“You don’t have to ask that.” Lance stepped side and help his arm out. “Mi casa es tu casa.” He narrowed his eyes, glancing up and down Keith’s form to see if he was injured at all, since he smelled almost nervous. “What’s up?”

Keith waited until the door closed, crossing his arms in front of him. He looked at anywhere but Lance as he muttered, “I guess I just…wanted to make sure that you were okay?”

“Huh?” The sound escaped Lance’s lips before he could stop it. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

He shrugged his tense shoulders. “I just… don’t want you to feel bad about not being the Pack Leader, you know? Cause Hunk’s awesome, and he’ll be great, but so would you.”

Lance had assumed that there was something wrong, the darkest part of his mind whispering that Keith had decided that he didn’t want to pursue him after all, and instead go for Hunk or something. He quickly caught on to what was happening though.  
  
Keith wanted to check on him, and had no idea how to go about it.

Back in the Garrison, Lance had assumed that Keith didn’t interact with many people because he thought he was better than them. He was quickly realizing that it was more likely that Keith didn’t know _how_ to interact with them.

He didn’t like what that implied. Yes, he was glad that he was seeing the real Keith beneath the layers of indifference and anger, but he didn’t have to like the fact that someone, maybe more than one person, had hurt him in the past. It was really the only way thiscould have come about.

Lance might have had his insecurities, there was no doubting that, but this was different. He wet his lips before saying, “It actually does suck a bit to be overlooked. It makes me feel a bit useless. I feel like that a lot.” If he wanted Keith to open up, he had to offer something first. He met his eyes and smiled. “But you know, Shiro pointed out that there was something else that I really needed to be focusing on right now, and he’s absolutely right. It’s different, but honestly, I think it’s _more_ than worth it.”

Keith finally met his eyes, confusion passing through the stunning indigo colour. He tilted his head slightly and asked, “Really? What?”

Lance snorted. “Really? You don’t get it?” Keith just blinked at him. “Oh my god. He meant you!”

“Huh?” This time Keith looked more than a little lost.

Lance suddenly reached out, tugging Keith closer to him. The Red Paladin uncrossed his arms, hands ending up on Lance’s shoulders and he pulled them close together. “I wanna focus on courting _you_ properly. Thought about it and what I wanted, and while it would have been awesome to be the leader of the pack, I really want this more.”

He couldn’t stop the pride and joy from rushing through him as Keith’s cheeks burned red. It was the cutest thing Lance had ever seen. He really needed to make sure it happened at least once a day. “You—you don’t have to do that. I—you already know what I’ll say.”

“Yeah, but my Mamá didn’t raise no ruffian,” Lance tilted his head up. “I want to do things right. Isn’t that why we agreed to take a step back and go slow again?” It was something they had decided together, wanting to get to know one another properly before jumping back into bed again. Lance really wanted this to stick, and it seemed like Keith did too. That meant doing it right.

Keith smiled at him softly. It was such a strange look on his face, Lance loved it. “Lance…”

“I’m doing it. I’m going to woo the pants off of you.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Literally.”  
  
The tension instantly left Keith, and he barked out a laugh. “Idiot Alpha. I came in here to make sure you were okay, and somehow I feel like you’re comforting me more. I really suck at this.”

The thought of Keith wanting him to be happy made any of the lingering sadness and insecurities he had fade away for the moment. He had absolutely made the right choice about backing off peacefully. He had something even more important to him, and he still had his friendship with Hunk entirely in-tact. It was a good day. “You did make me feel better, Mullet.”

He blinked. “How?”

Lance nuzzled close to him. “By being you.” He felt Keith tense up again. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“Your face mask feels gross against my skin.”

The Alpha burst into laughter and made a point of nuzzling the dried mask against Keith’s cheeks and neck, even as the Omega flailed around to get away, snickers escaping his lips.  
  
Yeah, Lance was sure he had made the right choice. It might sting for a little while, but seeing that rare, open smile on Keith’s face, he knew it’d be worth it.

…

“Hey there, Pack Leader!” Pidge said happily as she took a seat in the kitchen. “What are you up to?”

Hunk looked up at her, blinking his dark brown eyes several times as he looked around the room before revelation hit him. “Oh! Right! Me! I was looking for Shiro!” His cheeks flushed. “I was trying out a few new recipes. I realize that I wasn’t helping much with no real taste buds over the past year.”

“Keith and I made do,” Pidge said, jumping up from her spot as she made her way over to the counter. She pulled out a giant container of what looked like bright blue glitter. “This tastes a lot like sugar. We’ve both been using it quite a bit. We tried a few other things but – uh – yeah. Lets just say neither of us are cooks.”

“When did you do that?” Hunk raised an eyebrow.

“At night.”

“When you’re supposed to be asleep?”  
  
“Hastag Team No Sleep!” She looked at him seriously. “You should have seen Shiro’s disappointed looks every time he found us awake.”  
  
“I can actually see them.” Hunk shook his head. “What did he do, drag you back? Scold you?”

“He sat down with us and ate sugary food goo while reminding us that we should all be asleep. It was great.”

Hunk laughed at her ridiculousness. “You know I didn’t picture Keith as the type to like sugar.”

“Keith is a cryptid of mystery and anger until you see under the surface. Then you realize he’s a dork who would eat almost _anything_ you put in front of him out of spite, but he really likes sweet and rich things.” Pidge looked up at him. “I guess I’ve been hanging out with him a little bit more because we’re both Omegas, and for a while, we were the only ones that could really smell things. Made a difference.”

“That’s good though. Keith seems like the type of person that wants to be easy going but feels like he can’t.” Hunk frowned.

Pidge could almost see the gears twitching in his brain. He was probably trying to think of ways to immerse the other Omega into the pack more. It was his job as Pack Leader to protect them all.

He perked up a bit and said, “We should have a team bonding session, like when we were trying to form Voltron for the first time!”  
  
“Ugh, do we have to? I don’t want Allura to shoot us again,” Pidge said with a groan.

“…Okay maybe just like watching one of those strange Altean movies?” Hunk suggested. “I should have some hopefully _good_ food finished by then.”

“God, I love those,” Pidge said, grinning happily. They couldn’t understand the movies at all, but eventually it devolved into all of them trying to dub over the characters. Well, minus Allura, Coran, and Keith. They even got Shiro in on it before! “Lets do it!” She looked at him. “Betcha Shiro insists we get some _actual_ training in first though. We’ve been slacking a bit lately.”

“Nah, he wouldn’t do that,” Hunk insisted.

Pidge raised an eyebrow at him and slowly nodded her head. He got the feeling that she didn’t believe him.

…

As it turned out, Shiro would absolutely do that.

Hunk slumped onto the floor, panting as sweat slid down his face. Despite what people thought when they saw his size, he actually liked to think of himself as fairly in shape. He might not have necessarily been fast or agile, but he was stronger than most and knew how to use his muscle and mass to his advantage. He just didn’t like the concept of fighting when there were so many other routes to take. Right now though, that strength didn’t necessarily help, since these drills were exhausting and all about stamina.

Lance slumped down beside him, looking just as winded. That made Hunk feel a little bit better. Lance wasn’t a muscular person by any means, but he was in shape, flexible and quick – a performer and swimmer through and through. It made his exhaustion feel a little more valid.

Pidge flopped down onto Hunk’s other side, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m dead. I’m a ghost here to haunt you.” She tilted her head slightly, looking towards Shiro and Keith. “How are they still going?”

The two in question not only finished the drills in record timing, but were now ‘lightly sparring’. To Hunk, it looked more like they were trying to beat the hell out of one another.

He glanced at Lance and jokingly said, “Control your Omega.”

Lance eyed the two and then looked back at him with wide eyes. “He could probably turn me into a pretzel.”

“Ugh.” Pidge flailed behind Hunk’s back to kick at Lance’s legs. “Stop sounding so happy about that.”  
  
“Well I mean, I’m flexible anyway. Makes things more interesting, ya know?”  
  
“I will _end_ you.”

Hunk groaned and flopped backwards, successfully separating Pidge and Lance physically. “Yeah, Keith’s impressive. Doesn’t seem like most Omegas at all, but we don’t need to hear things like _that_ man. We really don’t.”  
  
Lance blinked at him. “Well, I mean, I’ve never met an Omega that can beat the shit out of me before? But Keith could do that, and I’m pretty sure Pidge could kill me in my sleep somehow.”  
  
“I could,” she answered ominously.

“Huh, we’re all kind of weird for our dynamics, aren’t we?” Lance said thoughtfully. “Hunk, you’re not nearly as aggressive or in-your-face of a leader as most Alphas try to be. Pidge, I would have thought you’d be a Beta (“God I wish.”). Shiro screams Alpha, and so does Keith now that I think about it. And me? Well, you thought I was an Omega at first.” He nodded towards Hunk.  
  
“We were trying to guess,” Hunk explained to Pidge when he saw her curious look. “We both thought the other was an Omega.”

She snorted. “And it turns out you were both Alphas.” A thoughtful expression passed over Pidge’s face. “You know, Lance, maybe you’re on to something.”  
  
“Yeah? Well…when I was home I always thought that I acted more like Mamá, Camila, and Theo rather than Papá, Anton, and Clara.”

“Whomst?” Pidge asked, laughing as Hunk nudged her.

“Here we go,” Hunk muttered, making himself comfortable.

Lance perked up. “Alright. Time for the Díaz-McClain family tree, in audio format!” He cleared his throat. “So, my family is huge and everyone lives super close to one another. My Mamá’s parents died, but I’ve got my Papá’s parents around: Charles McClain who’s an Alpha, and my grandma, Agathe Rivera-Álvarez, an Omega. Then there’s my Mamá, Ernesto McClain-Fuentes,  their Omega son, who married my Papá, Claudia Díaz-Rivera, an Alpha. Got that?”

“Grandpa Charles, Grandma Agathe, Mom Ernesto, Dad Claudia, got it,” Pidge said with a nod.  
  
“The thought of calling Abuelo and Abuela something aside from that is strange, but yes, that’s right,” Lance said with a nod. “Anyway, onto the important part: me, and my siblings. Uh, for the record we all have the name Díaz-McClain. Not just McClain like the Garrison liked to write. I think someone forgot the hyphen so they used that? When they should have used Díaz if they just wanted to pick one?”  
  
“Lance,” Hunk spoke up. “Tangents.”

“Right. Sorry.” He looked at Pidge again. “First is Camilia, my sister who’s an Omega. Then there’s Anton, an Alpha. Then Evelyn, a Beta. Then Theo, an Omega. Then Clara, an Alpha. Then there’s me! Oh! And Camilia has two kids, Gavin and Aleja Díaz-García. They live with our parents since her mate passed away. It’s been a few years since then.”

“Oh my god there are so many of you.” Pidge sounded so horrified that it made Hunk snicker.

“Does _Keith_ know this?”  
  
“I went through it with him. Quizzed him and everything!” Lance smiled warmly at the Omega, who was still training. “He did pretty good after the third time.” He was good at memorizing things when he wanted to be.

“Wow. My family is just me, Matt, Dad, and Mom. Dad’s a male Alpha, Mom’s a female Omega like me, and Matt’s a male Beta.” She shook her head and stared at him. “I’d get exhausted with so many family members. How do you survive Christmas?”

“Noche Buena is a wild time,” Lance said and left it at that.

“My family’s pretty big too,” Hunk spoke up. “My Tamā, Iosefina Tui is a female Alpha. My Tinā, Penina Tui, is a female Omega. I have one sister, Natia, who’s actually a Beta, but she and her partner, also a Beta named Talia, adopted three kids already. Aleki, Masina, and Samaria. Okay, maybe that part seems normal, but where I’m from pretty much everyone around is seen as family, so we got used to bring around a lot of people all the time.”

“I wonder about Shiro and Keith.” Pidge looked towards them. “I don’t know anything about their families, and the only person I recall seeing at the Kerberos launch was Keith. I only realized it in retrospect too.”

“Wonder if they’re actually related,” Hunk said aloud.

Lance nudged him. “Not all Asians are related, Hunk.”

Hunk felt himself burning with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just…you know what, never mind. It was stupid.”

Lance chuckled and looked back at the two in question. Both of them were smiling, and something about Keith’s genuine smile made him feel warm and happy. “What a show-off. Keith is such a big jerk, isn’t he?”  
  
“But you like him,” Hunk teased, dragging out the I in like and nudging him a bit. “You want to court him, sweep him off his feet, mark him, and make adorable babies.”

Lance’s face exploded with colour. He slapped his hands over Hunk’s mouth hard enough for it to sting a bit, and squeaked, “Don’t say that out loud!”

“We all know it,” Pidge said playfully. Hunk watched the expression on her face shift a bit before she asked, “I mean, you do, don’t you?”

“I mean—I just…”

Hunk suddenly narrowed his eyes as he pushed Lance’s hand off of him. “Are you _sure_ this thing isn’t just because a pretty Omega slept with you while you were in a rut?” Lance shot him a sharp look. “What? It’s a legit question. I don’t want either of you to get hurt if it’s just the pheromones, you know?” He was the Pack Leader, he needed to make sure they weren’t going to hurt one another. Hunk thought he knew the answer, he just wanted to be sure.

“No, it isn’t,” he answered after a moment. “I thought about it a lot. Tried to sort it out, you know? Cause I do tend to…like people really quickly.” He could admit that he was a flirt. “But, like…this didn’t happen quickly? It’s not like I was in love with him at the Garrison or anything, or that I liked him like that when we got up here. But…somewhere along the times…” He just shrugged.

“That’s sweet,” Pidge cooed, sounding both teasing and serious at the same time. No doubt she could smell the honesty in Lance’s words like Hunk could.

“He’s just…not what I thought I’d end up liking like this?” Lance admitted. “I mean, figuring out I was bi was kind of a struggle to deal with alone at first. I always thought I was straight because girls are amazing and beautiful. But you know…Keith is too, just in a different way. It’s not like he’s feminine like them. I mean, he’s amazing, but also a complete weirdo, you know? Like, why did he look so happy when I described us as rivals the other day rather than something else? He wasn’t really like that before we…you know. Maybe he doesn’t like _me_ like that?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Hunk assured him. “He’s crazy about you.”

“I think I can answer that,” Pidge said, crossing her legs and leaning forward. “He knows you’re an Alpha now, and even though you know he’s an Omega, you still see him as an equal. You don’t really realize how rare that outlook is. Keith and I talk about it sometimes. Not _you_ specifically, just in general.”

“Lots of people look down on my Tinā,” Hunk noted, bristling a bit at the memories, “but…I dunno…she’s almost more…dominant compared to Tamā, I guess? Tamā kind of just differs to Tinā. She’s amazing and I hate that people treat her like she’s less than an Alpha or Beta.”

Lance seemed to think about it for a moment, visibly wincing. “Yeah, a lot of people tend to overlook Papá. It happens a lot, doesn’t it?”

Hunk nodded his head. People expected and wanted Omegas to submit. He turned his gaze towards Keith just as he managed to slam Shiro to the ground. He couldn’t imagine Keith submitting to anything, not even Lance. Then again, he couldn’t see Lance trying to get Keith to submit either. They were good for one another.

“We’re not equals,” Lance blurted out.  
  
Startled, both Pidge and Hunk said, “What?”

Lance shook his head. “I’ve still got some things to catch up on to be at his level. I will forever deny that if you tell him. He doesn’t need an inflated ego.”

Pidge snorted, no doubt at the irony of the statement. Keith always took praise with relative calm, but Lance absolutely preened.

“My lips are sealed,” Hunk promised. “Though, I mean, if you guys really are courting, you should probably _try_ to compliment him sometimes.”

“He doesn’t want me to coddle him,” Lance said, sounding sure about it. Hunk had to wonder what kind of conversations they had behind closed doors. “Not entirely, at least. But it’s hard to figure out what to get him as small gifts. He has like no needs.”

“Just…go with what your gut tells you. And soft things never hurt with any Omega, right? Just because he _seems_ different, doesn’t mean that he’s different in every way, right?” Hunk asked.

 “Huh…yeah…” Lance looked thoughtful for a moment.

 “He’d probably like some more personalized thing for his nest during heats,” Pidge added. They both watched with interest as their friend turned a rather intense shade of purple and let out a high-pitched whine.

 Immediately, both Shiro and Keith stopped sparring and looked towards them, similar expressions of concern on their faces.

 “What was that?” Keith asked, indigo eyes turning to Lance.

 Pidge was snickering, and Hunk watched in amusement as Lance jumped to his feet. “Nothing! Hunk was telling Pidge about the first time I saw snow and got my tongue stuck to a lamppost, that’s all.”

 “You got your tongue stuck to a—”

 “Well this has been a fine training session! We will catch you guys later!” Lance said, aiming finger-guns at Keith before walking out of the room.

 Pidge burst into laughter, and Hunk shook his head. He stood up and said, “I’m going to finish up the food. See you guys in the lounge in a bit?”

 “Oh!” Pidge perked up. “I’m going to pick the movie!”

 “Nothing bad!” Shiro called out to them as they left the room.

 Lance was waiting for them outside the door, his face bright red. Hunk pictured the clear confusion on Keith’s face, how flustered Lance was, and the resigned, knowing acceptance on Shiro’s face.

 He burst out laughing. “What was _that_?”

 “I guess it just hit me that I like Keith, and we’re already doing the courting thing, and that means that I see him as a potential future mate, and I _knew_ that, but I didn’t actually _know_ that, you know?” Lance’s voice was much higher than it normally was. “And then you mentioned nesting, and heats, and argh!”

 “And that’s my cue to leave.” Pidge patted Lance’s arm. “You’ll be fine. Keith likes you. He talks about you when you’re not there.” She hurried off towards the lounge.  
  
“Wait, what? Pidge!” Lance cried out to her, but she ignored him.

 “Um, Lance.” Hunk stared at him seriously as the other alpha looked back at him. “I hate to be blunt, but you guys slept together once already.”

 “Well, I mean, it was definitely more than once but only at that time,” Lance blurted out, causing Hunk to groan. He didn’t need to know that. “Anyway, heats are completely different! Omegas are vulnerable, and it involves so much trust, and it’s a huge thing and you know it. And the first one with couples is a big thing. What if he tells me to get lost?” He paused and looked even more alarmed. “What if he asks me to stay?”

 “Say it’s probably best if you don’t?”

 “What the hell? No?” Lance stared at him as if he was nuts. “As if I’d leave my Omega alone during his heat if he wants me there!”

 A sly grin appeared on Hunk’s lips. “ _Your_ Omega, huh?”

 Lance flushed again and groaned. “Why does he make me so stupid?”

 “Cause you like him?”

 “He’s going to ruin me,” Lance whined. “And the worst part is that I’m like, all in for that.”

 “You’ll figure it out,” Hunk assured him, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Good luck _really_ figuring Keith out though.”

 Lance snorted a bit at that. “Loner. Cranky. Show off. Hothead. Doesn’t listen to anyone. Impulsive. Really good at hand-to-hand, flying, and swords. Good without trying. No fashion sense. No sense of a proper hairstyle. I’ve got him figured out.” He paused. “Why do I find that so...”

 “Endearing?” Hunk supplied.

“I was going to say hot, but sure, why not? What the hell?”

Hunk just chuckled, deciding not to answer that. If you could care about someone while acknowledging their flaws, that was a pretty good sign.

 “Now, I really am going to get the snacks figured out.”  
  
“I am going to take a shower,” Lance said. He grinned at Hunk. “You bet I’m going to use movie bonding time as an excuse to cuddle. Can’t smell bad, right?”

 Hunk laughed loudly and playfully shoved him. “Just go.” He continued to chuckle as he made his way towards the kitchen.

 He loved his little pack and wouldn’t change any of them for the world.

…

 “What is even happening right now?” Keith asked, staring at the screen blankly. He wasn’t a huge fan of watching the Altean movies that didn’t have subtitles yet (Pidge had been busy with more important things), because he could never get what was going on. He wasn’t sure if he was _that_ bad at reading people, or if it was just a bad movie, and he was kind of too afraid to ask.

 “Don’t worry Babe, I gotcha.” Lance used the arm that was around his shoulder to tug him a little closer. “Evangelina, the one with the pink hair, totally had her life going well for her and was in love with Crescencia, but then Aristides burst into their lives and swiped Crescencia away. Now he’s cheating on her with Marcos, but Marcos is also in love with Evangelina. Now they’re all on their way to duel one another for the chance to date Natalia, the Empress.”

 Keith stared at him blankly before looking around at Allura. The Princess stared back at him, completely flabbergasted. “Lance…”

 He snickered a bit. “I know, I know, stop making—“

 “When did you learn to speak Altean?”

 “—things up…what?” Lance stared at her.

 “You just described the entire plot perfectly.” She looked positively delighted by this. “Didn’t he, Coran?”

“Absolutely!” the Advisor agreed. “Even the names were perfect!”

 “I—what?” Lance looked around helplessly, but then caught sight of Pidge’s shaking shoulders and Shiro fighting (and failing) to keep a smile off of his face. “Very funny guys!”

 Laughter echoed throughout the room, and Keith looked from one person to the next before catching on. He sighed and slumped down a bit, slightly embarrassed that it took him so long to catch on.

 Lance grabbed the blanket that he had left on the back of the couch, throwing it around both his and Keith’s shoulders, cocooning them together. He didn’t say anything else, but Keith appreciated it all the same. He allowed himself to slump down against the Omega, but found that his eyes were burning and heavy. He kept blinking to try to keep himself awake, but he lost out to the urge to close his eyes.

 It was nice to feel so safe and comfortable with the rest of the team around him, like nothing in the world could possibly go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the families here, I tried to work in Cuban and Samoan culture into what Lance and Hunk call their families, how names work, but there is a lot of conflicting information online (probably because white people are jerks that think they know everything and before someone gets offended, I am white), so if I wrote something wrong or slightly offensive here, please tell me. 
> 
> I also heard many times that Lance is the youngest of three but while I found the interview that says he's the youngest sibling, I can't find anything about there being three, and the more I look at his family picture from season 1, the more confused I get. I also wanted to work in the name McClain while also touching on the fact that he's Cuban. 
> 
> We also know from the comics that Hunk DOES have at least one sibling (he mentions nieces and nephews) and someone he calls 'Pappy' but I played with that here differently. What you need to know is that the world considers omegas to be 'mothers' no matter the gender, and alphas are 'fathers'. It's all terribly confusing and ridiculous.


	4. I’m Not What I Thought

Coran kept his hand firmly planted on Lance’s shoulder. It was partially to comfort the young man, and partially to keep him seated. No one wanted him running off to the Blue Lion.

Blue had made herself able to handle extreme colds and water (because the Alteans had simply guided the process while the lions built themselves, as strange as that was), not to mention she was bigger and would probably get dragged into one of the black holes.

Whatever was happening down on that Galra base, the base that was supposed to be hiding potential allies that had been working against Zarkon for a long time, it couldn’t be good.

It was true that the Red Lion appeared to be the most protective of his Paladins. A part of this probably came from just how _reckless_ Alfor had been. That part of Keith reminded Coran so much of his old friend that it was almost painful.

Coran also got the feeling that a large part of it came from the fact that Red had been unable to save Alfor from Zarkon. Now he was going to make sure that his new, reckless Paladin wouldn’t’ befall a similar fate, or he was at least going to do everything he could to try and prevent it.

“Red is quite protective,” Coran had assured Lance. “Keith could have easily tripped and stubbed his toe.” That was when the lion first started moving on his own will. Then he began viciously attacking the base with a ferocity Coran had never seen before.

Lance was trembling under his grip, quiet growls rumbling in his chest. From what Coran understood this was a normal reaction for a human Alpha when the one that they were interested in was in danger.

His agitation seemed to put Pidge on edge, the Omega curling up in her own chair on the command deck.

When Lance had gotten up earlier, ignoring Allura’s instruction to sit and wait, Hunk had to  growl and had given Lance a very pointed view. It did get Lance to sit back down, though Hunk kept eyeing him from time to time, clearly more worried.

Eventually, Red stopped attacking. Coran squeezed Lance’s shoulder and said, “There, see. Keith would have had to call him off. He’s fine.” He shot a sharp look at Allura, who seemed about ready to reply. She closed her mouth and looked away.

There was another reason that a lion of Voltron would become unresponsive, but Coran didn’t want to set the Blue Paladin off again.

It was only when Shiro commed them, stating that they were on their way back that everyone relaxed. He didn’t sound desperate or wary, which meant that Keith was fine.

Coran was glad that Hunk and Pidge stayed close to Lance so that he could be beside Allura. He could remember a time when Galra weren’t their enemies, he could remember exactly how things turned out so badly. It made logical sense to him that there would be Galra who despised the way the empire had turned out. There was no way they’d all be happy with Zarkon.

He also knew that Allura was young and so, so angry. He _knew_ that she would be hostile towards these Galra that were supposed to be on their side. She would learn over time, but it would take just that, time.

Once situated in his hangar, Red lowered his head and opened his maw, revealing Shiro, Keith, and a tall male Galra. Allura tensed up as they walked forward, eyes narrow with suspicion as she looked over her Paladins for any sign of a trap.

Shiro seemed completely at ease, though Keith was hanging back a little bit, moving slowly.  Shiro and the Galra approached them as Keith edged his way to the side, only for Lance to appear at his side, whispering quietly to him. Pidge and Hunk inched closer to them as well.

Then the Galra spoke, and everything went to hell.

…

Lance was silent as he flitted around Keith, who slowly limped down the hall. Though he wanted to sling the other’s arm over his shoulder to help him walk, he respected the fact that Keith didn’t want to be touched right now. Instead, he just made sure that he was prepared to catch him, should he need it.

Keith seemed to find this acceptable, not protesting Lance’s nearness anymore like he had when the Alpha was crowding him a bit, not like the others. He didn’t really seem to want anyone near him right now. Not after the leader of the Blade of Marmora had so bluntly announced the fact that Keith was part Galra.

That had been shocking, but at the same time, Lance felt like it _answered_ more than anything else. He had seen Keith use Galra tech before, and it had niggled at something in his mind, but he chose to ignore it.

They didn’t know if one of Keith’s parents was a Galra, or if it was one of his grandparents. Either way, it explained Keith’s speed, stamina, and reflex times. Lance used to joke (complain) to Hunk that it wasn’t fair, because Keith was clearly an alien so they shouldn’t be compared to him.

Looks like he was right.

It occurred to Lance that it might be how Keith had been able to fight through his heats in the past better than Pidge could. Apparently the two of them had decided it was just because Keith was used to it, but Lance knew other Omegas, and had never heard of them getting up to fight like Keith could during a heat (even though Keith admitted that it was difficult for him to do too).

They finally got to the med bay, and Lance watched as Keith reached up to take his armour off. Or, rather, he tried to. Instead, his entire body tensed and a surprisingly high-pitched whine escaped his lips. Normally Keith wouldn’t allow himself to make noises like that, so that said a lot about the level of pain he was currently feeling.

His protective instincts reared, and he moved forward. “Let me help you.”

An oddly vulnerable look appeared on Keith’s face, and he nodded his head. Lance carefully helped him take the thick white and red armour off first, before going to the parts on the black under armour (that Pidge liked to call space Kevlar, since it was similar in a way, though made from completely different materials) that would loosen it enough to take it off. Alteans didn’t have anything like zippers, and it had taken them a little while to figure that out, but they got it.

Lance inhaled sharply as Keith’s skin came into view. Underneath their suits, they all wore tight tank tops and leggings for comfort. Despite being covered still, the spots of pale skin that Lance could see was almost entirely marred by red, purple and black bruises. There were long, thin cuts all over as if he had decided to fight the blades of a blender. Lance was willing to bet he probably had some fractured or broken bones too, based on the swelling.

“You need to get out of this too to put on the pod suit,” Lance said softly, motioning to Keith’s tank top. “I’ll get one, be right back.”

Keith was clearly too tired to care about decency, managing to get the rest of his clothes off quickly. Lance pressed a small, white square to Keith’s back, watching as the white fabric spread across his body.

The Omega looked at his arm, and Lance said, “Coran told me this helps heal things properly. The pods would work without it in a pinch, but these help a lot.”

With a slight nod, Keith looked towards the healing pod. The suit sealed Keith’s scent, but Lance could still see the apprehension on his face. His lips parted with surprise, and he said, “Oh man, this is the first time you’ve been in a healing pod, isn’t it?” Surly that couldn’t be right. Keith was the one always running into trouble, and Lance himself had been in one loads of times during the year they were in space.

Still, Keith nodded his head. “Yeah.”

“How?” Lance asked, eyeing him skeptically. “You run into every bad situation ever. How is it that you’ve never been in one of these?”

“Because that’s your thing.” The soft voice Keith had been using up to that point instantly vanished. He eyed Lance, clearly unimpressed with how often he ended up in the healing pods.

“What?” Lance chirped, before turning red. That was absolutely a sound that came from Omegas, not Alphas. Keith seemed to notice that too, raising an eyebrow slightly. “I don’t—I mean it was just a couple…you know what! Get in the pod.” He motioned towards it.

Keith eyed it warily again.

Lance sighed and took a step towards him, very carefully putting his hands on his shoulders, well aware that he was basically a walking bruise right now. He’d always been a touchy-feely person, and though he seemed a bit surprised by the sudden touches, Keith didn’t seem as opposed to it as Lance would have thought. “Don’t be nervous. I’m going to stay right here until you wake up. Promise!”

Indigo eyes looked towards the floor, a frown marring his features. “To guard the monster?”

Blinking a few times, Lance let the confusing words compute in his brain. It was no use though, because they just didn’t make sense. “What?”

“Didn’t you see the way Allura looked at me?” Keith’s voice sounded impossibly small and not at all like him. Lance decided he hated that too. “The Galra destroyed her home. They enslaved more than one galaxy. They’re monsters, and I’m one of them.”

 “Keith, no,” Lance spoke, and Keith looked up at him, probably surprised by his oddly stern tone. He placed his hands on Keith’s cheeks, thumb brushing along a thin cut that was there. “Listen to me. You’re not a monster. You’re you. You’re the stupidly stubborn, impulsive, awkward, weirdly talented, super kickass, hot Omega you’ve always been. You’re Keith, and finding out that _someone_ in your family was Galra doesn’t change that. I mean, just because my grandpa was white doesn’t make me any less Cuban.” 

They were both silent for a moment, and one of Lance’s hands slid into Keith’s raven hair. “I’m staying here for you, no one else.” The slight growl to his voice surprised even him, but he was _not_ letting anyone, even the rest of their pack, go at Keith when he was so vulnerable. He was _his_ Omega, and it simply wasn’t happening, end of story.

Lance had to admire him though. Apparently he had been keeping it together like he hadn’t just found out that he wasn’t entirely human until Kolivan stated that Keith’s blade had accepted his Galra blood, and clarified that the boy was indeed part Galra. Then all the fight just seemed to physically leave him.

Keith took a deep breath and nodded his head. Maybe he didn’t completely accept it, but it was enough for now.

“What am I going to do with you?” Lance muttered, shaking his head slightly as he stepped close to Keith. “The second Red started freaking out, I thought I was going to lose it too.”

“Lance,” Keith muttered, but he didn’t say anything else, shifting a bit to look at him with pained and exhausted eyes.

“I’ll be here,” Lance assured him, once again moving both of his hands to Keith’s cheeks. “Trust me.”

“I do,” Keith assured him, leaning up and pressing his lips against his briefly.

Lance almost purred, both at the contact and the words. Now though, they needed to get Keith into a pod. That much bruising wasn’t healthy, and who knew if there was internal bleeding that they were ignoring. He helped Keith into the pod, making sure to keep eye contact as he activated it. It was only when Keith’s eyes closed as the artificial sleep took over that Lance looked away.

Lance slumped down as it froze over, staring at the Omega – no – _his_ Omega, inside. Keith trusted him, and he was not going to goof that up.

Nothing was going to tear him away from that spot.

…

Pidge hummed nervously as she shifted the tablets in her arms. They didn’t necessarily need the physical copies to access the holobooks, they had all been given their own personal tablets, but since they could barely read Altean, they all tended to use the physical copies.

She took a deep breath, covering the nervousness with confidence as she stormed into the med bay. Lance was exactly where she thought he would be, sitting directly in front of the pod Keith was in. She made her way to him, and dropped all of the holobooks on top of him.

Lance yelped. “Pidge, what the f—?”

“They’re books on Galra biology,” Pidge interrupted. “I was looking for Keith and checked his room first, but obviously he wasn’t there. Anyway, I found these on the floor, it looks like he’s been studying up on this. These are just the Altean ones that we can translate. There were a few Galran copies there.” She pushed her glasses up. “Honestly, I think he’s suspected for a while and wanted to know more. Given that he tried to teach himself Galran rather than ask me to write programs to translate it, I’m going to say that he wanted to keep it to himself.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Lance asked her.

“Would I want to know more? Absolutely.” She nodded her head and sat down beside him. Hesitating a bit, she added, “And I guess I wouldn’t necessarily be forward with my suspicions if I didn’t have any proof.” She looked up at Keith, unable to help the twisting inside of her stomach. “He must have been scared.”

“And we didn’t notice,” Lance said miserably as he picked up one of the books. “I didn’t notice. Some Alpha I am.”

“No, no, we’re not doing that.” Pidge shook her head. “I’m not sure you see just how much more relaxed and happy Keith has been over the past few weeks, do you? He adores you, even if he tries to act all tough and nonchalant about it.”

That made Lance smile. “Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “Where’s Hunk?”

“He’s making food. Figured that we’d all be hungry. Then he’s coming here, and we’re all going to kick back and wait for Keith. We’ll eat and read books about Galra biology together.”

“It was his idea to send you here, wasn’t it?”

“You can’t prove that.” He absolutely could because Pidge wasn’t always as sly as she thought she was. Of course, it wasn’t that she was heartless and didn’t want to help her friends, but she didn’t always pick up on social cues, kind of like Keith. The girl turned her head up to look at Keith again. “You know what this means, right?”

“No?” That came out a lot more warily than he meant it to.

She held up her hands to placate him. “It’s means that at least one Galra has been to Earth before. Before Kerberos. Before they were heading towards the Blue Lion.”

“I never thought of that,” Lance admitted. “But whoever it was – a grandparent or parent, they had one of those fancy knives so they had to be one of the good guys, right?’

“In theory,” Pidge agreed. “I mean, there’s always the chance that Keith wasn’t even born on Earth, you know? People have gone to other planets in our solar system before Kerberos. Maybe one of Keith’s parents worked for the Garrison and went on a mission? Who knows. Or maybe a Galra did end up on Earth at some point.”

That made Lance pause. “And then a human said ‘I’m going to bang that giant purple thing’ and didn’t look back.”

Pidge snorted loudly. “I mean, you were pretty quick to start flirting with aliens so—“ she cut herself off, eyes going wide. “Oh my god. You _did_ end up with an alien.”

“Pidge!” Lance’s cheeks burned.

“I mean, technically speaking, an alien is a visitor from another world so to other planets _we’re_ the aliens, but you know what I mean.”

“Oh my god.”

Pleased that she had managed to distract him so that sad smell wasn’t pouring from him anymore, she said, “You know, the fact that Keith exists at all is fascinating! We knew that Alteans can shapeshift to blend with local populations – so they’d probably be able to breed with them too, but Galra have never shown any sign of that. Yet they’re completely compatible with humans! Keith clearly looks human – there’s nothing physically Galra about him – so I wonder if there’s anything different about him inside?”

“He’s not a science experiment!” Lance snapped. Instantly, his face flushed. “Sorry.”

“Just protecting your Omega, I know,” she replied teasingly. Pidge stood up and stretched out. “I’m actually going to go check up on Hunk to see how things are going. Be back in a bit. Comm us if he wakes up early, okay?” She quickly turned and left the room.

Lance twisted around to look at Keith, eyes studying his pale skin and contrasting black hair. The cuts and soft bruises on his face were already starting to vanish. Hopefully that meant that there was no real damage and he would be out sooner rather than later.

He eyed the holobooks, remembering a time that he had waltz into Keith’s room to find him reading. He had quickly put the book aside, and instantly distracted Lance with other things. It hurt a bit that he didn’t come to him, but at the same time, Lance understood. They weren’t mates, or technically boyfriends yet, they were only courting. It made sense for Keith to keep things to himself.

Still, he must have been _so_ scared. Lance remembered smelling bits of fear and panic souring Keith’s scent, but he it had passed quickly enough. He didn’t want to push Keith too much, so he didn’t ask about it. A part of him wished that he had.

Reaching down, he picked up one of the holobooks that were translated and began to read.

…

Hunk peered into the med bay, a small smile on his face as he watched Lance read through one of the holobooks Pidge brought him. The girl in question snickered slightly, and Hunk nudged her gently.

“Hey,” Hunk called out as they came into the room.

Lance jumped and then looked up at them. A smile appeared on his face as they approached and sat with him. “Hey guys.”

“Hope you’re hungry, I made a lot of food.” Hunk sat down the tray, moving something that was wrapped up to stay warm. “That’s for Keith when he gets out.”

“It’s his first time in a pod,” Lance said with a frown. “He was pretty much one giant bruise going in, so he’ll probably be super tired and hungry.”

“There is no way it’s _Keith’s_ first time,” Pidge said, sounding scandalized as she thought back. “Even Hunk and I have gone in before.” Her brow furrowed, before her eyes went wide. “Oh my god, he’s never been in a pod before. He needs to teach me whatever voodoo magic he uses.”

“Well, I mean, he _is_ part Galra,” Hunk pointed out. “They’re pretty durable.”

“Yeah,” Lance said, picking up one of the plates of food that was blissfully not food goo. “Where’d you get this?”

“It’s actually something that the Blade brought as a peace offering. Well, the ingredients were. So I mixed it with some food goo and it turned out really good.” Hunk looked at him seriously. “We need to raid places for different kinds of food.”

“I mean, that _is_ an actual strategy,” Pidge pointed out. “Take their resources from them. It’s something to run by Allura.”

“When she’s in a better mood.”

Lance’s own smile faded away as he looked back up towards Keith. “He’s not going to say anything to you guys, you know that, right? About the being part Galra thing.” He shook his head. “I said I’d stay here with him, and he asked if it was to guard ‘the monster’. I don’t think he even meant to say it.”

“He’s not a monster,” Pidge insisted. “Again, I find it more fascinating than anything else.”

“Yeah, I mean, he’s _Keith_. I mean, it’s something new and it’ll be on our minds for a while but it’s not like we’re going to shun him or kick him out of the pack or anything.” The words ‘unlike Allura’ went unsaid, but they all knew it was there. Hunk cleared his throat. “He has nothing to worry about from us.”

“That’s good, because then I would have to fight you,” Lance said seriously. He wasn’t at all joking, and both Pidge and Hunk could tell from the intense twist to his scent. He seemed calm, but Lance was absolutely in ‘must protect mate’ mode.

“Did you read anything interesting in there yet?” Pidge asked, nodding towards the books.

“Well,” Lance looked down at it. “I’m not sure how to compare it to us, you know? Biology wasn’t my thing. I don’t think I’d actually know what’s different with him. I mean, there must be some things, right?” He paused. “Well, I guess it kind of explains his eye colour.”

“There must be some things with his muscles and joints, perhaps even his heart,” Pidge said thoughtfully. “Just from observation, he definitely has more Galra-like reflexed than human. I always wondered how he could move so quickly. There must be a reason why. I wonder if he’d be up for some experiments to check it out.”

“Pidge,” Lance said warningly.

“I don’t mean like dissecting him, or anything without his permission.” She rolled her eyes. “Keith seems like someone who gets super into research when something interests him, judging from how much reading he was doing. I mean, he was probably learning a whole other language to do it! It might be something he _wants_ to do. Plus it would help if he knew his own biology in case of a medical emergency where we can’t get to the pods.”

“A whole other language?” Hunk asked curiously.

“Yeah. Some of the holobooks were in Galran script, and I double checked and they were accessed pretty frequently.”

“Huh. Well that could be helpful.”

“Keith doesn’t have sharp teeth.” Pidge and Hunk both looked at Lance oddly. His face flushed and he motioned to the book. “Okay maybe I noticed that there’s a _little_ bit more of a point to his canines but not really enough to stand out. Says here that Galra are largely carnivores.”

“You know, that might explain why he’s so pale and skinny,” Hunk noted. “Well, people are _allowed_ to be pale and skinny, but if he needs more meat in his diet it might help him a lot.” He’d have to look into that before another thought hit him. “Coran said that the food was fine for us, and Alteans can clearly eat almost anything because his stuff is nasty, but I doubt he accounted for someone with Galra genes. Have to look into that.”

They all continued to eat and talk to one another for a while until Pidge nodded off. Hunk scooped her up and looked at Lance. “Maybe you should go get some sleep in your bed. It’d be more comfortable.”

“Nah. Promised Keith I’d be here when he comes out.” Lance leaned against the pod. “I’m good.”

“I’m going to bring you back a blanket and pillow,” Hunk decided, figuring that it was a fair compromise. First to deliver Pidge back to her room.

It had been a long day for everyone.

…

Keith slowly came back into awareness, shuddering a bit at the prickle of cold against his skin. At the same time as he opened his eyes, there was a whooshing sound, and he found himself stumbling forward, closing his eyes again.

Warm arms grabbed a hold of him, hugging him close. A familiar, comforting scent soothed Keith, and he nuzzled his face into the warmth of Lance’s shoulder. Slowly, he blinked his eyes open and leaned away from Lance so that he could see his face. “You stayed.”

“I did,” Lance assured him. He brushed his warm fingers across Keith’s cold skin, and the omega couldn’t help but shiver from the temperature difference. “God you’re cold. Come here.” Lance helped him sit on the ground, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders and rubbing his arms. “How do you feel?”

That’s right, he was in the pod because he had challenged the Blade and had gotten the snot beat out of him. Keith tested moving his arms, then his legs, and then twisted his torso. “A bit stiff, but I’m okay.”

“That’s normal,” Lance assured him, reaching over and handing him a container. “Hunk brought this in for you earlier. Eat. Drink. Then we’ll get you to a real bed.”

In any other situation, Keith probably would have snapped at someone for ‘babying’ him, but he couldn’t help but smile. A small part of him was actually quite pleased that someone cared enough for him to try and take care of him like this. “Sounds good.”

The food tasted absolutely amazing. It was probably the best thing that Hunk had ever made, and he made a mental note to tell him that.

His eyes turned to Lance, who was puttering around him picking up holobooks that were spread out all over. He was about to ask what they were, but quickly recognized them as the holobooks he had on Galra genetics and biology. “Huh?”

Lance seemed confused for a moment before catching on. “Oh. Pidge thought that maybe I took you back to your room and she found these instead. She gave it to me to pass the time. Actually, she and Hunk were here for quite a while reading them too.” Keith shrunk down a bit at that, his heart leaping into his throat. “No, no, none of that. It’s a good thing. I was curious about some things that you might go through because it’d suck to go through anything on your own.”

“Oh.” Keith’s cheeks turned red. “I—uh—thank you.” He shifted awkwardly before looking down. “Did you find anything?”

“A few things I’m curious about.” Lance sat beside him, calm but curious. “So do you prefer meat? Cause these say Galra are usually carnivores thought they eat other things with that and you gotta eat things that are good for _you_ or you could get hurt or sick.”

“Yeah. I’ve always preferred meat,” Keith said with a small shrug. “My dad used to call me a little t-rex because of it.” The bittersweet memory of seeing his father in front of him again hit him hard. God Keith missed him. He wished that he was around to answer all the questions that he had.

“Your father?” Lance asked, his voice soft. “So he was...?”

“Human?” Keith finished for him. “Yeah. My knife belonged to my mother. I never knew her. She left when I was a baby.” He looked down, suddenly not very hungry despite how good the food was. “Now I know why.”

Lance slid an arm around his shoulder and tugged him close. “Hey, this must be a shock, but I’m here, okay? If you need to rant or talk about something? And if you need to scream and beat the shit out of something I’ll drag you down to the training deck. Alright?”

“It doesn’t freak you out?”

“What? That you’re part Galra? Nah.” Lance shook his head, and Keith could only smell honestly rolling off of him. “I flirted with mermaids before I started courting you, and they’re part fish. So you got a bit of purple space cat in you. No big deal.”

Keith couldn’t help but chuckle at that, shaking his head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I try.” Lance winked at him before settling on a small, warm smile. “You full?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Keith watched him curious as he stood up, taking the container from him and trying to balance all of the holobooks while also grabbing a pillow that was on the floor. Keith shook his head, stood up (keeping the blanket around his shoulders because these suits did nothing to help with the cold), taking some of the holobooks from him. Lance was about to argue, but Keith said, “I’m not fragile.”

“Alright,” Lance sighed dramatically.

The two of them stopped by the kitchen to drop off the container, and kept heading towards the sleeping quarters. Lance helped Keith set the holobooks aside and was about to head for the door, when panic erupted within the Red Paladin. “Wait.” Lance looked at him curiously, and Keith suddenly couldn’t meet his eyes. “Do you think you could stay here? With me?”

Lance didn’t say anything, and Keith only looked up when he felt a warm hand on his cheek. The Blue Paladin was smiling. “Of course. I’m just going to get changed. It’ll give you a chance to get out of that suit too. Just press this spot here.” He motioned towards a part on Keith’s wrist. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He pressed his lips to Keith’s cheek and hurried away.

Keith inhaled deeply, feeling his cheeks burn. He busied himself by taking off the suit and grabbing his own pyjamas: red bottoms and one of his black t-shirts. He’d compromise with Lance on wearing the Altean pants, but he was _not_ wearing the shirt.

He curled up in his bed, staring at the metal wall. So much had happened that it was impossible to focus on one single thing right now. He didn’t know what to do with himself in the least.

The bed shifted as Lance crawled in beside him, wrapping his arms around him and snuggling Keith’s back to his chest. The warmth and the scent of the Alpha instantly soothed him. Maybe he didn’t have to know what to do with himself just yet. Maybe he could just enjoy this for a little while longer.

…

Most days Shiro had no idea what he was doing. He pretended, and he pretended pretty well if what everyone else said was true. 

At the same time, he couldn’t always pretend. Reality was, the others relied on him. It was difficult, but at the same time, he also relished in it. It gave him a purpose that pushed the nightmares back. If he could focus on planning the next mission, on being the Black Paladin, then everything that he had gone through up to that point was worth it.

Now all of the planning was coming to a head. The fight with Zarkon was still fairly far away, but at the same time, it felt like it was coming far too soon. They just needed to get the final pieces in place to this wild plan that they had cooked up with the Blade.

That meant everyone going their separate ways. Coran would go to Olkarion. Allura to the Balmera. Hunk and Keith would be going after a Weblum (whatever that was). He would be going with Lance and Pidge to Beta Traz.

Naturally, Lance had joked that it was where they kept the Betas, which led Pidge to joking that they were going to lock Lance in there so he could be the leader of the Beta prisoners.

Now he was sulking with Keith.

It was heartbreaking, looking around at everyone as they bid one another goodbye.  They were confident that they were going to be successful, but there was always the chance of something going wrong, and no one wanted to leave anything unsaid.

He watched Coran hug Allura tightly, and realized that this was one of the few times that Allura would be going somewhere else without Coran. The last time had been an absolute disaster, so it wasn’t surprising to see the old Altean hug her extra tightly.

Hunk and Pidge were talking to one another quietly, Hunk’s arm slung around the young girl’s shoulder comfortingly. A small smile appeared on Shiro’s face. Hunk was absolutely what their little pack needed as a leader. Shiro was proud of him.

The last two Paladins were side by side, Lance’s arm resting along Keith’s shoulders, while Keith’s seemed to be resting on his back. It was strange to see Keith so physically close to another person and not only be okay with it, but seem completely comfortable. It was nice.

Shiro watched as Lance said something quietly, and Keith raised an eyebrow, looking more amused than anything else. They were really sweet with one another, and Shiro regretted any misgivings he had at first.

“It’s time to go, Paladins,” Coran called out to all of them.

Lance whispered something to Keith again and kissed him before moving over to talk to Hunk quickly.

Shiro took the opportunity to approach Keith. The Red Paladin looked up at him, smiling. Neither one of them said anything. Shiro simply held out his hand, and Keith grasped it with his own. He tugged the young man he saw as his little brother close, clasped hands resting between them.

“It’ll be okay,” Shiro finally said as they took a step back from one another.

“I know,” Keith said with a nod. His eyes flickered over to Lance, and the Black Paladin couldn’t help but smile.

“I want you to know how proud I am of you,” Shiro said quickly. Keith looked up at him curiously. “For everything, but mostly how you’ve been letting not just Lance in, but everyone else too. I can feel it when they’re Voltron, can’t you?” Keith looked away, but nodded his head. “I know how hard it is for you to reach out to others and let them in, so the fact that you’re doing that shows just how brave you are. I also know you must be scared at going separate ways for now.” Keith looked back at him. “It’s okay. I’m going to make sure he’s okay, that another person doesn’t leave again. Not when I can help it. Pidge too.”

Keith was quiet before saying, “Protect him for his own sake, not mine. Voltron needs Lance, not just me. The same goes for Pidge, and for _you_ too.”

Shiro was a little surprised, but rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder and squeezed. He knew that Keith didn’t see it, but that there, that was the smallest glimpse of the person Shiro knew he could be one day.

“You’re right,” he agreed. “For the team.” He chuckled. “I really am proud of you. And I want you to know that, no matter what, you’re still my little brother.” He meant that with every fiber of his being. Shiro had always wanted a brother, and was very happy with the one that he ended up finding. Nothing would change that, not even being part Galra.

Keith took a deep breath and nodded his head, unable to say anything in response. That was okay though. There was nothing that he needed to say.

…

“Hunk!”

The large Alpha jumped and looked over his shoulder as Lance skidded into the kitchen, decked out in his blue robe, his hair in every different direction, and his eyes wild.

“Lance?” Hunk questioned, his voice rising in alarm. He dropped the whisk he was holding onto the counter. “What’s wrong?” Why was he even awake right now? Hunk had been unable to fall asleep despite his exhaustion and was hoping he could basically cook himself to sleep. He wasn’t really feeling food himself right now, but figured he could put it away for everyone else while exhausting himself.

“Keith threw himself out of the Yellow Lion while we were fighting!”

Ah, he should have known what this was about. “Well, yeah. I thought it was dumb too, but Red’s like that overprotective dad that’s waiting for you at the door when you pick his son up for a date, so things turned out fine.”

“But you dissolved in a Weblum’s stomach!”

What the—? “Uh, no? I’m right here?” Had Lance found some kind of Altean alcohol?

“You dissolved in the Weblum’s stomach and Keith went crazy and he and Yellow flew back here on a revenge mission and then he threw himself out of Yellow and Yellow kamikaze-ed into the sun and Red ate Keith.”

“You—are you sleep walking? And talking?” Hunk narrowed his eyes at his friend.

“No.” Lance’s shoulders slumped. “I woke up from a nightmare. You weren’t in your room so I panicked and had to find you. Gonna go fall asleep in Keith’s room after this.”

The Yellow Paladin smiled sadly at his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I’m okay. Keith’s okay. You’re okay. Everyone is! I didn’t dissolve in a Weblum’s stomach. It was a wild adventure though, and I’m trying to cook myself to sleep.” He paused. “You _have_ to watch the video Coran made. It was ridiculous. You can even ask Galra-Keith.”

“I—Galra-Keith?” Lance stared at him, his voice trailing off slightly as his brow furrowed.

Hunk waved his hands animatedly. “Yeah. He’s like Keith, but funnier!” A smirk spread over his lips. “You know what I noticed earlier when we were in Yellow and taking stock of potential injuries we had? He smells an awful lot like you.” Lance’s face turned red, though he didn’t look at all unhappy. “Seriously, it was like you were there with us.” Hunk set the timer on the ship’s version of an oven, giving Lance a pointed look. “I’m a bad person who didn’t think to ask earlier, but are Shiro and Pidge okay? What happened with you guys? I’m assuming you got Slav?”

Lance puffed out his chest. “And Shiro admitted I’m the team sharpshooter!” He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows dramatically. “And I’m sure Keith doesn’t smell nearly enough like me anymore. Gotta fix that.”

Hunk rolled his eyes. “You’re shameless. As least Keith is private.” Hunk looked at him with interest. “What’s Slav like?” Someone that intelligent had to be amazing.

 Lance snorted loudly and said, “Shiro hates him. It’s amazing.”

“What?” Hunk was pretty sure he was hearing wrong. Shiro hating someone who wasn’t a Galra trying to kill them? It sounded impossible to him.

Though Shiro also stayed up late at night with Keith and Pidge eating sugar and food goo, so really, Hunk shouldn’t have been that surprised, right?

“Oh yeah. He keeps flipping out at him and everything! It’s hilarious!” Lance said, bouncing on the spot. He interrupted himself with a wide yawn. “I guess I’m going to go find Keith. I’m really glad you’re okay, Hunk.”

“I’m glad you guys are too.” Hunk smiled at him. “Now go on. Go find your boyfriend so you can get laid.”

Lance squawked and waved his arms, doing a fantastic impression of a bird. “I don’t want to see him to get laid! Wouldn’t have come here otherwise, would I?”

Hunk raised an eyebrow, but accepted that Lance had a point.  That aside, Hunk was easily the most observant when it came to human (or alien) behaviour. As such, he didn’t believe his best friend about the rest at all. “That’s not what you said a minute ago.”

“Our relationship is built…well, is _being_ built on a solid foundation of communication, trust, and rivalry, not sex.” Lance paused and frowned. “Is that what it really seems like though? Because that’s not cool at all! We haven’t done anything since the detoxing!”

Hunk shuddered at the memory. “You’re ridiculous and I missed having you around. Now, don’t you have a boyfriend to find?”

“Well, technically he’s _not_ my boyfriend,” Lance pointed out almost shyly. “Courting, right?”

“Hmm…well, get some rest. Allura wants to go down to talk to the Balmerans again tomorrow, so she’s probably going to be waking some of us up earlier.”

“Ah yes. You would be excited about going to flirt with pretty rock girls.” Lance smirked at him. “Why aren’t you down there right now?”

“Go find your boyfriend!” Hunk said, trying to ignore his flushing cheeks as he pointed at the door. He really _did_ want to go down to the Balmera, but it was late and everyone was exhausted. Plus he kind of wanted to impress Shay with his cooking. Not that he’d admit it.

“I know you tried to change the subject.”

“Like you’re doing now?”

The two stared at one another before both broke into smiles and hugged one another again.

“Go on. Go find him. Though maybe you should get cleaned up first. You kinda stink. A lot.”

Lance laughed. “Love you too, big guy. And thanks for helping. You really calmed me down.”

“It’s no problem,” he replied with a wave.

What an absolutely strange night.

…

Fighting vengeful, zombie robeasts after just getting home from another difficult mission was always fun, Keith thought sarcastically. He’d love to do it again and again.

Sure, he was very goal and mission oriented. No one would ever question that about him, but sometimes he just wanted to sleep too. So much had happened.

His mind went back to the Galra that he had saved. They weren’t as tall as most Galra that he had met, and their armour didn’t match the Empire ones either. It was strange. Galra seemed to have a huge range in biology, but they were still one species. Spreading across the universe had made them adapt differently, but genetically, they were the same. It was much like people on Earth. One thing that all had in common though was that they were tall.

That didn’t take hybrids into account. Of course, Earth didn’t officially have any human hybrids, Keith being the only one for sure that they knew existed. He was pretty sure that the Galra he faced had been a hybrid too, and he couldn’t help but wonder what they looked like.

Keith shook his head as he finished shrugging off the last of his under armour, kicking it into a messy pile on the floor, his leggings and tank top following them, leaving him in only his boxers. He then flopped down onto his bed, feeling like he could sleep for a week.

That was why he actually growled at the door when there was a knock a while later. He perked up a bit at the chuckle that rang through the door as it opened and Lance walked in. With no hesitation at all, he shrugged off the robe he was wearing and flopped next to Keith on the bed, apparently settling on just boxers too.

They laid silently before Lance muttered, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Keith replied tiredly. He inhaled and made a face. “You stink.” It stood out a lot because Lance normally smelled amazing due to all of the products he used. His warm, natural scent was still there, but the BO covered it up pretty badly.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Lance replied. He rolled over, nuzzling his face close to Keith’s scent gland. “I need to be like right on top of you to smell you.”

“Ugh, get off me,” Keith demanded, which had Lance shifting off of him, but not going far. “So tired.”

“We should go have a shower,” Lance said, though he sounded and smelled just as tired as Keith felt. “Otherwise we’ll feel nasty in the morning. Shower now, sleep in longer.”

He made a very good point. “I don’t think I can stand in the shower long enough without falling asleep.”

“We’ll go together,” Lance suggested.

That made Keith blink. That would be really nice, but there was one thing he needed to make clear. “I’m too tired to even _think_ of sex.”

“Oh thank god.” The Alpha seemed instantly relieved. “I feel you there. Or rather, I don’t. Get it?” He laughed at himself.

“Holy shit your jokes are bad when you’re exhausted.” Keith somehow managed to roll out of bed and keep a steady footing. He reached his hand out, tugging Lance up when he took it. “Come on then.”

“Hey Keith?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you wanna be my boyfriend?” Lance was so tired that he didn’t care about how unromantic that sounded. The thought had come back to him and he wanted to clear things up.

Keith was so tried that he couldn’t find it in him to make a big deal out of it. “Yeah, sure.”

“Great.” Lance leaned on him. “Shower and sleep?”

“Fuck yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the little spoiler preview for S5 with the Allura look-alike. I'm throwing my bet out there: It' Allura's mother, but younger. I've seen some people say Romelle or a DnD character Allura made because one of the VAs said there was a DnD episode (I...kind of hope not?). 
> 
> But yes, I'm going with Allura's mother. If it was Allura, character or not, it would have more her colour pallet (white/blue/pink) and that one has Allura's mother's pallet (dark/light pink/gold). If it's another character (Romelle) she'd probably have her own colour scheme but I DON'T think they'd have another Allura clone.
> 
> So I'm thinking there's going to be some kind of flashback, maybe having to do with that white lion to help Allura somehow.


	5. Crash and Burn

Tensions were more than a little high on Olkarion, since now they were just waiting. The Olkari were amazing builders, but teleduvs were an ancient, technology that were very particular and finicky. They would go as quickly as they could, but in the meantime, the Paladins were in this strange standstill where there was only so much training they could do, but not training or doing something left them all feeling antsy.

They were actually gearing up to take on Zarkon. After 10,000 years, they might actually be able to end all the suffering.

Allura took a deep breath as she stared down at the progress of the teleduv. Striking down Zarkon, as satisfying as it was going to be, wouldn’t be the end of this. She _knew_ that. It was going to take time to clear the Galra from the worlds that they had taken over, to fix the damage they had done. Zarkon dying would hurt them badly because he had been in power for such a long time, but there were others that would try to scramble to fill in the empty spot.

She looked over to where Pidge and Hunk were standing with Slav, who was waving his many arms around as he talked about something. Shiro was with Coran, far away from them (she found Shiro’s annoyance with the genius pretty funny).

She couldn’t stop herself from frowning when she looked at Lance and Keith, particularly the Red Paladin.

Guilt twisted inside of her, but along with it was a terrible pride that she wouldn’t let go of, as well as a bit of anger. Her hands curled into fists, nails digging into her palms. Maybe if Keith had been a Paladin of any other colour, she might have been more willing to meet him half way. A Galra, even if only in part, piloting the lion that her _father_ had piloted for almost all of his life? It was almost insulting.

Allura took a deep breath and shook her head, shoulders slumping a bit. None of that was Keith’s fault though, was it? She had no problem working with him, trusting him, before Kolivan had revealed the fact that he was part-Galra.

She had been more polite with their Blade of Marmora allies than her own Red Paladin. The betrayal from him felt so much stronger though. But then again, he didn’t actually _do_ anything to betray them.

This was an old wound that hadn’t healed properly, and was being ripped back open. She could still _remember_ Zarkon when he wasn’t the monster he was by the end of Altea, the monster he was now.

Forgiveness wasn’t an easy thing to do, and no one was _asking_ her to forgive. She had the right to be angry with the Galra. Everyone did.

Keith hadn’t done a single thing wrong though.

She watched as Lance poked his face and Keith swatted his hand away. Somehow, Lance ended up turning that into them holding hands, something Keith seemed confused about. She couldn’t help but smile at the two of them.

They all deserved some happiness.

…

Just because they were preparing to fight Zarkon didn’t mean that they didn’t run occasional missions nearby. It was one of the Blade members who had pointed out that it would look suspicious of Voltron vanished all together.

Allura had to concede that it probably would look like they were planning something, which they were, but none of them wanted Zarkon to know this. So they began to respond to nearby distress signals.

Keith had been all for this. There was really nothing else he could read about Galra biology anymore, especially since it might not apply to him. Coran and Pidge had somehow managed to talk him into getting a scan to compare to both a Galra and a complete human (Pidge, in this case), but that was something that only took up about a half an hour of his time.

Going out in missions gave him a purpose and a drive. Now he was kind of regretting it.

Keith’s fingers curled around the handles in his lion so tightly that they were shaking.  He was sure that his knuckles were a milky white beneath his gloves.

He could feel Red’s warmth rush over him, his over-protective lion trying to calm and comfort him as he guided him back towards his hangar. He appreciated the effort, but knew that it wasn’t going to do him any good. No amount of mental help was going to change what he was feeling.

Luckily, their armour completely blocked their scents as a preventative measure against species, like humans, that had a strong sense of smell. So no one else had been the wiser of the change happening inside of him. It was hypocritical, after he had assured Pidge there was nothing wrong with being an Omega, and that heats, while they sucked, were still natural.

When he woke up that morning, Keith knew that his heat was going to hit him like a speeding comet. Normally, Pidge’s heat would have synced up with his, but due to stress levels, he had skipped his last one. After Pidge had gone into heat this time around, Keith honestly knew that he was going to go soon after.

It wasn’t a regular thing for Omegas to have late heats or miss them, but Keith’s weren’t exactly regular.

After his detox, he had a horrible one that he was not at all prepared for. Especially with what almost happened to him. The second one had been almost painful, because Omegas weren’t _meant_ to be alone. They were meant to have family and friends around them to help. They were meant to have an Alpha around at the very least. Keith had been entirely alone.

He had handled it for quite a while alone in space too. Shiro had known that Keith was an Omega, but his ruined sense of smell made it so that he didn’t always clue in to when Keith was in heat. He had managed to push through all of them without anyone noticing, until Pidge found out.

Keith was honestly a little nervous for this heat. He could feel his defenses lowering more than normal, like his body instinctively decided that Lance being his boyfriend was just as good as him having a mate. The Alpha would surly protect him. He knew this was true, but honestly, he wasn’t ready for the intimacy of being with your partner during a heat.

Keith _hated_ the fact that his body was essentially trying to force him to get pregnant once every three months. What kind of bullshit was that? It was terrifying. What’s worse is that so many Alphas (as well as some Betas, and other Omegas weren’t completely innocent either) actually sexualized it. It really pissed him off. They only really focused on the fact that Omegas generally became aroused. They didn’t clue in on the fact that the sex wasn’t the point of heats, it was just a means to the end. The end being procreation.

 If there was one thing Keith knew, it was that he wasn’t made to be part of a family. Any kid that came from him would probably be best off with a Beta family. Hopefully that would never happen.

It should have been easy to say that it would never happen in space. The problem laid with Lance, and the undeniable attraction Keith had to him. He was absolutely positive that it wasn’t because Lance was an Alpha (since he hadn’t known what his dynamic was anyway when the feelings started). Yes, Keith had known from the beginning that Lance was physically attractive, but now he knew that he cared about him more than anything Keith could recall.

He had known that there was more than just physical attraction there ever since they had their bonding moment.

That had hurt a lot. He thought they were getting closer, that it meant something, only for Lance to act like it didn’t matter at all. It reminded Keith again that it was easier to stay away than to let them in only to hurt him.

Though that’s exactly what he was doing now, wasn’t it? Letting Lance in. He had agreed to be his boyfriend, which was more than just courting. He could have blown off their encounter as a one-time thing (well, okay, three-time thing but it was _one_ encounter), but he didn’t _want_ that.

Their little courting dance had led to them deciding that, yes, they were going to by boyfriends – partners. It was bizarre to think that someone would want to do that with _him_ of all people, but here they were.

It wasn’t easy getting beyond that part of him that ate away at his mind, wondering if Lance just wanted someone for now. Though going beyond courting made that seem a little less likely. What if he _wanted_ to have kids? Keith wasn’t sure he could give him that. Surely Lance would be better off with a more traditional Omega than him?

It was part of the reason why Keith kept his upcoming heat to himself. He knew how to do it, though there was the extra risk of Lance, Hunk, or Pidge smelling him now. Not to mention a small (actually a large) part of him _wanted_ Lance to know. Luckily, they had been in their armour more than anything else lately.

This mission wasn’t one from a distress call, but rather, clearing out some Galra fighters that were getting a _little_ too close for comfort. Keith didn’t have time to think about the impending heat that was likely to hit him within hours. There were Galra to fight.

As the battle progressed though, he found himself growing incredibly hungry, tired, irritable, and oddly paranoid. He was glad that they didn’t need to form Voltron so no one would feel it all coming off of him.

As Red settled in his hangar, a wave of a panic rushed over Keith as he realized he didn’t have a nest prepared. He’d been feeling the itch to take things recently, but he had ignored it. Keith knew what that feeling meant, and felt really stupid about it now after he had been so encouraging to Pidge.

He hadn’t stored any water or food. Hell, he hadn’t even eaten that day. That was never a good thing.

“Yo, Keith!” He jumped, fingers uncurling from the controls inside of Red. He looked at the view screens to see Lance standing beside the hangar door. “Come on! Allura wants to do a debriefing, and you’re taking a long time.”

Of course Lance had come to get him for taking so long. Even if they weren’t together, they were the right side of Voltron, and their hangars were close together.

He also realized that angering Allura was a terrible idea at the moment, all things considered.

Keith grimaced a bit, knowing there was really no way of getting around this. He knew the suits were supposed to prevent anyone from smelling them, but in the off-chance that something did get through, he didn’t want to put himself or Lance in a bad position. Or Hunk, for that matter.

Keith felt sick. He could accidentally get Hunk and Lance fighting. He didn’t want that.

Lance claimed that he could help himself, hell, he had basically proved it to him already. He absolutely trusted that Lance’s aggression when Pidge went into heat really did have to do with him detoxing, and Keith purposely exposing him to his own scent.

A shiver rushed through Keith’s body as he remembered the kisses and the touches. How it felt to be held gently, but handled roughly when he wanted to be.

Keith bit his lip so he wouldn’t whimper. There was no way he could be around Lance at the moment. He couldn’t trust himself. Humans were _only_ fertile during their heats, and they didn’t have any kind of protection. It wasn’t something he wanted to risk.

He turned on the communicator in his helmet, programming it to talk to a specific person. “Shiro?”

“Keith. Lance says you’re ignoring him, what’s up?” Keith could almost feel Shiro’s concern.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to be here when I come out of my lion,” he said shakily, leaning forward a bit. “I trust him, but I don’t trust myself, and my heat started last night.” He didn’t like to admit it, but he knew Lance wouldn’t leave if he was worried. Shiro would help them both out of this situation.

“Keith…”

“Shiro,” Keith replied in the same tone, watching as Lance’s hand rose up to his helmet. The Blue Paladin jerked with surprise and looked up towards the Red Lion. He motioned towards his helmet. “I’m going to talk to Lance. Over comms. I’m staying in my lion.” He didn’t need a lecture from Shiro.

He changed frequencies to the Blue Paladin’s. “I wasn’t ignoring you.”

“No, I know. I get it,” Lance assured him. There was something a little gruffer about his voice though. “But, uh, I’m going to wait out here until Shiro comes, okay?”

Keith blinked a bit, brow furrowing until a strange idea hit him. An idea that made him feel warm inside and almost purr. “I—Red’s not letting anyone get in here. It’s okay.”

“I know, I know,” Lance admitted with a sigh. “I just…I can’t help it. You and Pidge are our pack Omegas. We need to protect you guys, even if you don’t want it.” He shifted a bit. “And you…you’re different than Pidge for me. I just want to protect her. That’s all her scent did to me. You though…I want to say that you can trust me, but I don’t—I don’t know how I would react to your scent and I wouldn’t want to – I mean I _wouldn’t_ do anything without permission but—“  
  
“I know you wouldn’t,” Keith assured him, smiling a bit. “I don’t know what _I_ would do though, and instincts are hard to fight. I don’t want to put you in that situation.”

Lance inhaled sharply. Keith couldn’t blame him, since he had basically just implied that there was a very high chance that he’d try to jump Lance if he went out there. It was terrifying. Keith had never felt that way before and he hated it.

He also really hoped that he didn’t send Lance into another rut.

Luckily for Keith, who didn’t know what to say after that, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge showed up at that moment. Lance turned his comms off and spoke quietly to them, before Hunk led him away, his hand firmly clasped to Lance’s shoulder.

“Hey Keith, just wait a second,” Pidge’s voice range through his helmet. “We’re waiting until Hunk gets Lance to the kitchens. Coran tried cooking, so it really stinks there. No way he’ll be able to smell you.”

“Thanks,” Keith replied almost shyly.

“We’re good,” Hunk assured them a few moments later. “I got Coran to seal us in for now.”

“You didn’t have to—” Keith started.

“Yes we did,” Hunk interrupted, his voice stern, reminding Keith about _why_ he was the pack leader. “Better for everyone to get you situated first. Especially since your room is right next to Lance’s. Anyway, you’re cleared to get out of Red. Pidge will let us know when we’re good to go.”

Hunk couldn’t see him, but Keith nodded his head as Red leaned down to let him out. He felt overwhelmed by the fact that everyone was willing to help him.

His legs were embarrassingly shaky as he stumbled out of his lion, Shiro catching him.

“Wow,” Pidge said. “These suits are supposed to be scent proof, but I can smell a bit coming off of you.” She paused. “Though that may be because my senses are still a bit heightened from my heat.”

“If it helps, I still can’t,” Shiro said, earning a snort from Keith. “We’ll get you into your room. And don’t let Lance in.”

That made both Keith and Pidge snort with amusement. That wasn’t Shiro’s fault, he was just trying to protect his Omega brother from an Alpha. Though Betas weren’t aggressive in the same way, they could still be very protective. Keith and Lance weren’t at the stage yet where it was expected for them to spend a heat together. Not until it they were further along in their relationship. Everything was far too new.

“Right, so, Shiro’s going to stick with us just in case, but we’re going to raid everyone’s rooms,” Pidge said, grabbing Keith’s arm and urging him forward. “Like you did for me the first time.” She’d never caught him just before his heat when they were on different schedules, and when hers aligned with his, Pidge realized that Keith had been finding everything for her and taking one or two small things for himself.

“No,” he admitted, brow furrowing. “You guys don’t have to do that. I can do it.”

“I’ve only had a few heats, but we both agreed that they suck hard,” Pidge said. “It was better for me when you guys were there to help me. Why wouldn’t we do the same for you?”

Shiro frowned at that as he walked on Keith’s other side. Of course, he had an idea why, and was none too impressed with it. Keith had almost always been alone after all. That was just how it went, even if it wasn’t healthy for Omegas. Despite different personality types, humans were naturally pack animals.

Pidge led him around from room to room, starting with hers. She threw plenty of her stuff at Keith, but he only settled on a couple things. Next came Hunk, where he only took one shirt, but it was so big and soft that it was like having four things. Shiro insisted that Keith take whatever he wanted from his room, which was only one shirt this time as opposed to what he used to take before.

Going through Lance’s stuff was odd, because Keith kind of wanted to take all of it. Everything was so soft and smelled really good.

“Are you taking his blankets?” Pidge asked, clearly amused.

“They’re mine now,” Keith said seriously, also grabbing some of his shirts. He eyed the pillow but decided to leave it.

She tried to hide her giggles, but couldn’t. “You have way more of Lance’s stuff than anyone else’s.”

Keith flushed. “I—well yeah.” There was no point denying it. “He’s my boyfriend.” He really wanted Lance to be all over him, but for right now, his scent would have to do.

Leaving Lance’s room, the group abruptly came to a stop when they came face to face with Allura.

The Altean Princess stared at them with wide eyes, looking rather shy all of a sudden. She cleared her throat and said, “Hunk told Coran and I what was going on. I thought that perhaps you’d like these.” In her arms were perfectly folded, soft blankets.

Keith could _tell_ how soft they were just from looking at it. He carefully approached her, and couldn’t stop a light purr from escaping his lips when he actually felt the blankets. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Allura said, nodded her head at him. She cleared her throat and took a step back. “If you’ll excuse me, there is something else I need to attend to.” She hurried away.

“Awkward,” Pidge whispered a moment later.

“She’s trying,” Shiro noted. “That means something.”  
  
“It means a lot,” Keith corrected, holding the blankets close to him. Honestly a part of him felt like crying. Said part needed to promptly go and throw itself out of the airlock. 

“Alright, Keith,” Pidge said, glancing at him as they entered his room. “Now the door will completely seal so no one can open it from the outside. You’ll be able to open it though.”

“Lance isn’t going to force his way in here and hurt me.” He couldn’t hide how offended he felt for his boyfriend. They hadn’t done this for Pidge. They had the ability to open her door and check in on her whenever they needed to.

Then it occurred to him what was actually going on. They were putting more precautions for him because he was older than Pidge, and her instincts weren’t driving her to mate yet. Keith’s were different, since conceiving was what those instincts wanted, and he was in a relationship with an Alpha. Locking wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

They didn’t need to lose a Paladin because he was stupid and got pregnant. Keith didn’t need to bring a life into the world (galaxy?) that would only suffer because _he_ was their mother. Everyone just wanted to protect him.

Still, he was wildly embarrassed that they were going out of their way like this for him. It made something well up inside of him that he had never felt before. He wanted to protest that he could take care of himself, that he wasn’t weak like most people thought Omegas were, but at the same time, he really appreciated it too. It was kind of nice to have a pack protecting him at his lowest.

It took everything inside of Keith not to cry.

…

Keith wasn’t necessarily an artistic person, but he was still quite proud of the nests that he built. They weren’t what people would call typically ‘pretty’ nests, since in the past he didn’t exactly have the nicest things around. In fact, when he was in the desert his nests had been pretty pathetic looking. He was still proud of them though, because they were sturdy and, most importantly, they were comfortable.

This time around, with so many soft fabrics and pillows in so many colours, it not only felt more amazing than any other one that he had made before, but it looked awesome.

Standing in front of his handiwork, Keith took a moment to eye it proudly. Before he knew what he was doing, he was about to walk to the door, wanting to call Lance to show it to him.

He froze mid-step. Their relationship was way too new for that. Omegas only ever wanted to show their nests to their mates. Sure, it was acceptable for certain pack members to come into a nest without implying anything (usually other Omegas, but sometimes Betas too) as long as things were discussed beforehand. Never Alphas though. Even siblings stayed outside the nests. That was reserved for mates who happened to be Alphas.

A blush exploded on Keith’s face and he groaned, retreating to the soft nest that made his inner Omega purr happily. He wanted to show Lance his nest, like he was showing off to _his_ Alpha to impress him. Then again, Lance was kind of his Alpha, wasn’t he? They were dating.

He buried himself in the scents of his friends, and a part of him still felt like crying. Never before had he been purposely surrounded by the scents of so many people that seemed to care about him.

A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. He stared up at it before saying, “Yeah?”

“I’m leaving something outside the door.” Lance’s voice instantly caught Keith’s attention, his head perking up. “Give me a minute to get back into my room before you get it, okay? Then lock this door as quick as you can so I can come back out.”

Keith heard his footsteps hurry to his own room before walking towards the door. He hated how shaky his legs were as he approached the panel that would unseal and open the door. He peered out, smiling when he saw the pillow that he had left in the Alpha’s room earlier. The one that smelled so strongly of him. Keith took it and retreated back inside quickly, hugging it to his chest.

A few moments later, he heard footsteps approach again. “You good?”

“Thank you,” Keith answered, warmth welling inside of him. “I—I’m sorry.”  
  
“For what?”  
  
“That you’re out there and I’m in here?”

Lance made a noise, and Keith realized that he was sitting on the floor, probably with his back against the door. “Don’t apologize. What we have is so new, and I want to do this properly. Heats are different from ruts. This time you need to stay in there while I’m out here, and that’s okay. It’s okay if that’s how it goes the next two, five, or ten times. I’m here to be what you need to be.” He paused. “Just so you know, I’m camping out here.”

Keith’s heart soared, and he couldn’t hide his blush. “You don’t have to.”  
  
“I’m going to. You’re my Omega, and I know space is weird and all, and I just want you to know you’re safe there.”

“Thank you. I mean it,” Keith replied as he shifted back into his nest, burying himself into the safety and warmth of it. He held the soft pillow from Lance close to his face, inhaling with a purr. It was alarming, really, how Lance’s scent comforted him even more any other scent he could recall.

Something twisted inside of Keith’s chest, making him feel a bit nauseated. He’d found other guys attractive in the past, including some aliens. Hell, Hunk was easily one of the most beautiful men that Keith had ever seen, and he was an Alpha, but he didn’t feel this same pull. The pull that had been there _before_ the pheromones came into play.

Lance was funny, interesting, and very nice to look at. Keith knew that he was an excellent shot, and though an obnoxious goofball that could hit all of the wrong nerves at times, he was a good person.

Hell, Keith had offered himself to Lance to fuck when he was in a rut. He had been in his right mind at the time, not influenced by heat or pheromones, and he hadn’t regretted it at all. It had been a bit overwhelming at first, but when Lance made it clear that he wanted _Keith_ and not just any Omega, he had been very much willing to let to let him touch him. Now he was sitting outside of his door to protect him.

Absolutely _no one_ had done that for him before.

Keith really wanted Lance with him now. So badly that it was making him a bit distressed.

A whimper escaped him, and suddenly, his clothes were too constricting. He got up again, scrambling to find the loose pyjama pants that he knew where there but never wore. They had a silky fabric that felt nice against his hot, oversensitive skin.  

Once the pyjamas were on, Keith crawled back into his nest, squeezing his eyes shut. His fingers twitched and he felt pressure building in his power abdomen. It wasn’t painful yet, but it made him restless and twitchy.

He twisted into the sheets, breathing heavily, and falling into a fitful sleep filled with dreams of a blue-eyed Alpha that was guarding him from outside.

…

Keith knew everything that happened to him was pheromones, hormones, and everything else in his body acting up. Though it wasn’t quite acting up if that was its function in the first place. His _body_ wanted to create a baby, but he did not, thank you very much.

For mated Omegas, or those in a long-term relationship with an Alpha that respected them and took steps to consider what they wanted (such as protection), it could be a very intimate and wonderful period of bonding, trust, and understanding. That was an ideal, and the image that was promoted. It was something that he wanted with Lance when their relationship wasn’t so new. A part of Keith even hoped that, just maybe, by the next one Lance would be able to join him. It wasn’t like they _had_ to have sex, but Keith really, really didn’t want to risk it without protection.

So many people thought it was sexy and that they were doing Omegas favours by coming onto them during heat (they often called it ‘helping them’). That the Omega would love it and owe them for it. That it was a fun time.

It was really nothing at all like that. Keith would fight anyone who implied that to his face. Well, maybe just the ones that refused to listen to his point of view on it. Not everyone could be blamed for their lack of proper education.

It had always been an almost painful experience for Keith, on a physical, mental, and emotional level. He always felt so tired and weak with fever. He felt like even his _hair_ was sensitive, and he kind of wanted to crawl out of his skin. Normally, there was physical pain like cramping or burning, and yes, there was a twist of arousal in there. Maybe it was because he was alone for so much of his life, but that aspect of it was always pushed to the background.

This time was a little different. Keith felt a little more comfortable with the scents of others around him, especially Lance’s scent. His, in particular, helped a lot in other ways. Plus Keith could smell him outside the door for the most part. He assumed that Lance was force to leave from time to time.

He really, really wanted Lance to be with him. Even if it was touching him in a non-sexual way, it probably would have helped. It honestly frightened Keith, because he’d never felt that way before.

He laid in his nest, whimpering a bit and digging his untrimmed nails into his arms as he hugged himself. He was so tired, yet at the same time, he was like a coil that was about to spring apart.

He hated this so much. He didn’t want to have a kid with anyone, not even Lance. He hated that he felt this way, that he couldn’t stop his hands from running over himself while thinking about the Alpha. There was absolutely _nothing_ shameful at all about masturbation, not even in the slightest, but Keith was all about being able to choose his own actions that he didn’t like when these intense urges hit. There were so many more important things to focus on, like the fact that they were fighting in a space war that could very well end up at Earth one day.

“You’re an Omega,” a nurse that projected kindness had told him at the Garrison when they arranged for the proper suppressants. “Of course you want to have a baby someday. Maybe not right now, but you will. It’s just how things work.”

That nurse could go fuck herself. Keith hated the thought that he wouldn’t be able to choose what happened in his life in the long run, what happened to his own body. That was easily the worst part of it.

Keith knew without a doubt that he would be the shittiest parent imaginable. His own mom had abandoned him as a baby. His father had _tried_ to raise him the best as he could, Keith was very fond of his memories of the man, but he had been taken away by circumstances out of his control. He didn’t blame his dad, but that didn’t make things easier.

Lance though, Lance loved family. He deserved a proper Omega that could give him the family, the pups he wanted. Keith couldn’t be that even if he wanted to be. Sure, he could _physically_ carry the pups, but he’d mess them up too badly.

Normally, Keith would be able to hold in his emotions, but he let out a sob. Even then, he tried to keep it quiet, but it was much louder than he meant for it to be.

Outside of the door, Lance leaned his head on the metal. He could smell the distress Keith was in, and because he was listening for it, he could hear the sobbing. It was hard to hear things through their mostly sound-proof doors, but he was trying as hard as he could when that smell hit him.

He didn’t know what was wrong, but he’d do anything to fix it.

…

“So, I’d just like to clarify some things,” Coran said to the Paladins at dinner. “About your biology.”

“Do we have to talk about that again?” Hunk asked, clearly a bit embarrassed about it all.

“Of course. It’s natural and nothing to be ashamed of,” Coran said easily. Then again, he as a shapeshifting alien so who was he to judge? “Now, Keith and Pidge are Omegas. That means they can both carry children, though Keith identifies as male and Pidge as female, correct? And there is a bit of a biological basis behind whether a person is male or female, but they don’t _have_ to follow that?”

“That’s a simplistic way of putting it, but continue,” Pidge confirmed for both of them, since Keith wasn’t there.

“Right. Now you two will have heats around every three months, but not at the same time?”

“They did sync up for a while, but Keith missed one and this time it got a little screwed up. They’ll probably go into sync again though,” Pidge admitted. “It’s what happens to healthy Omegas who are consistently in close proximity with one another. Which is both good and bad. It means that Voltron will only be out for one week every three months, not two weeks, but at the same time, we’ll be two Paladins down at once. Though Keith went through several heats without _any_ of us knowing, so it might not be as bad as it seems, even if he’s pretty bad right now.”

“Yes, I’m sure you could both push through in the case of an emergency,” Allura agreed. “You’re both quite strong willed. There are, of course, pros and cons to this…syncing up.”

“It’s not like they’d get to choose though,” Shiro reminded the Alteans. “They can’t help it.”

“Of course,” Coran said. “Now, when they’re in heat, they’re fairly vulnerable, correct? Especially to Alphas?”

“No, that’s not how it works. They’re physically weaker and not nearly as coordinated. They’re often more paranoid, feeling only safe in their nests in a safe place. They may also seem a bit…out of it or tired,” Shiro explained with a frown. “Essentially, they’re more vulnerable in general, not just to Alphas. Actually, if it’s the right person, Alphas can really help Omegas in heat.”

“It’s true. Plus we’re often in pain and feverish,” Pidge added. “I’ve kind of felt like punching something, so there’s that too? May have been because of the pain though. Also the thing about Omegas being drawn towards an Alpha’s scent is true. Big-bro hugs from Hunk and Lance did wonders for me, though everyone’s smells help too. It reminded me that I had a pack and I wasn’t alone, which made me feel loads better.”

“Mated Omegas are only drawn towards the scents of their mates,” Shiro added, “though they can get some comfort from their family members as well. For instance, if Pidge had a mate, she could still be comforted by Matt if he was an Alpha. He’s a Beta though.” He nodded towards her. “Betas help out a lot though. I can be around anyone no matter what’s going on with them.” His attention turned to Lance briefly before looking back at Coran. “Omegas in relationships can be similarly affected, but it’s less acceptable for the Alpha they’re with to join them during heats. At least not while the relationship is new.”

Lance slumped a little bit. He hadn’t thought about what their fairly new relationship would do to Keith while he was on his heat. He got the feeling that Keith had rejected comfort from Shiro, hence why he brought it up at all. He’d have to give someone else something of his for Keith again. As much as he _wanted_ to be with him, it was probably a bad idea.

“You know,” Coran spoke up, “this reminds me a tad of the Galra.”

That caught everyone off-guard. “What?” Hunk burst out. “Really?”

Allura simply crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

“In a way. They have…well…I tried to describe it to Keith but the words wouldn’t translate directly, he said it sounded like gibberish, so I guess the closest we can get are Bearers and Givers, as in, child-bearers and child-givers. Bearers are extremely common, Givers a little bit rarer. Givers can ‘claim’ however many Bearers they want to mate with, and that Bearer is theirs for life. An it’s not just other Galra. They’re a survivalist species, meaning their genetics can blend with most known species. It’s probably how they’ve stayed in power so long.”

“What?” Lance seemed horrified by that. “But—alphas and omegas mate for life. With each other and no one else.”

“Different species, Lance,” Pidge pointed out. “If it’s acceptable to them to have a single Giver with a lot of Bearers, that’s just how they do it and we shouldn’t judge. Humans should be more open minded about things like that. Though the idea of just claiming is a bit sketchy. Do the Bearers get a say of that?”

“Most of the time, yes, sometimes, no. A long time ago, Givers were very considerate towards their potential mates. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a little less of that now.” Coran grimaced.

Hunk was frowning too. “Keith part Galra though. How does _that_ impact him?”

They were all silent, before Coran said, “I’m not really sure. That’s something we’ll look into, though he’d definitely be classified as a Bearer. Perhaps we should look into doing some scans.” He was about to add something else, when the alarm blared loudly, startling them all.

Coran already had a screen shining from the cuff around his wrist, muttering something about thinking that the planets were devoid of life, but apparently that wasn’t the case. Whatever else was said wasn’t heard by the Paladins, who rushed to get their armour on and to their lions.

“Oh hell,” Hunk muttered when he saw the size of the fleet.  “Uh, how are we going to fight that without Voltron?”

“We don’t,” Keith’s voice came through the comms.

“Keith?” Shiro asked. “What are you doing?” Normally he wouldn’t question it, but a quick check-up on him earlier, and he wasn’t doing too well.

“I’m fine,” he said, clearly through gritted teeth.

“You—”

“Am not letting _this_ stop me from doing my job,” Keith snapped, clearly in no mood to argue.

“Alright,” Shiro eventually agreed. “If you feel bad, head back, okay?”

Keith didn’t answer, so they took that as a resounding no. That didn’t stop the five lions from surging forward into battle. The only sign of Keith’s strain was the occasional slow reaction that wouldn’t have normally happened, but wasn’t too notable too be worried about.

…

Keith probably should have been worried about his reaction time. He groaned as he blinked open his eyes, his head pounding. It took him a moment to realize that he was upside down in Red, who was completely offline. That certainly explained his headache.

It took him a moment to remember that they had gone to check on a signal that came from a moon in the same solar system as Olkarion. There had been some kind of base there that was under attack by the Galra. They had formed Voltron, and the last thing Keith remembered was a strange weapon forcing the lions apart and in different directions. The right side had taken most of the direct damage, and Red had been forced into the gravity of the world they were by. He remembered trying to get his lion out of the gravitational pull, but he had been too slow.

He remembered seeing Black destroy the weapon. He also remembered slamming his lion into Blue.

Alarm rushed through him, and Keith wanted to whimper and hide in a corner until Shiro found him. A normal Omega would have done that.

Keith reminded himself that a normal Omega wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. He reached for his safety harness, but stopped when he realized that the fall down could seriously hurt him if he already had injuries.

Keith looked down (or up) at himself, grimacing a bit as he moved his shoulders. Something large must have dislodged during their fall and slammed into his shoulder and the side of his helmet. He could feel a sting on his cheek with a bit of wetness, no doubt a shallow cut. Now that he focused on that, he realized that his visor was cracked.

That would be bad if this world’s atmosphere was toxic or non-existent.

He looked over at the armour, realizing that it was cracked and the black under-amour was torn open. It wasn’t too bad though, and nothing else seemed to be hurt.

Carefully, he used his injured arm to unbuckle the harness, gripping his seat with the other. As soon as it let go, he flipped over, dangling mid-air briefly before he let go, landing on his feet. Normally, he would have been okay, but the second his feet hit the floor, his knees buckled and he slumped down.

Keith groaned at the weakness that hit him, the heat still sizzling his skin and his insides. Of _course_ he had to go crashing his lion on a planet during his _heat_. Of course he did. If they would have stayed in space, he would have been fine, but of course the Galra had to have some weird weapon that separated Voltron. On top of that, this is the most intense heat he had experienced in a long time.

Fuck all of them. Also fuck his stupid body that wanted to have a baby to the point where it made him weak like this. Humans sucked.

A loud growl made him jump. His heartrate spiked as he remembered the creatures that surrounded Shiro on the planet they were stranded on. Slowly, he inched towards the viewing windows that doubled as Red’s eyes (how that worked he did not know but that wasn’t the point). He looked around, but didn’t see anything.

The one thing Keith knew was that he was _not_ getting out of Red. His nerves were absolutely frayed as it was, and being in his lion at least gave him a bit of security. It took a lot to pierce the lions’ hulls or damage them.

Keith stayed silent, the only things he could hear were his heart pounding in his ears, and his harsh breathing.

Then there was a loud shriek of metal as Red jerked. He lurched forward, slamming down onto the control panel. Pain jolted from his shoulder, rushing through his body like harsh electricity. He whimpered, but pushed himself up to see what was happening.

Keith pushed himself up as Red continued to shudder and jerk, looking out through the windows. His heart dropped to his stomach when he realized that something was _dragging_ Red. Something was big enough and strong enough to tug around a giant mechanical cat.

“Wake up,” Keith muttered to Red. “Come on, wake up.” He grimaced again as Red was practically tossed backwards, yelping with alarm as the lion landed on his side. He groaned and looked up.

Keith jerked away from the windows. There was something there – a strange creature that looked like a fusion between a person, a komodo dragon, and a lion. It was _terrifying_ , and it wasn’t alone. There were others gathering around Red’s face.

Keith forced himself to stay calm. He was fine as long as he stayed in Red.

A giant paw slammed into Red’s face, the claws curling and piercing the windows and lights that made up Red’s eye.

Panic rushed through Keith, and he launched himself towards the back of the cockpit, managing to open and close the door. He could hear the smaller creatures coming inside, and knew that there was very little they could do to Red, but there was a lot they could do to him.

He got down to the emergency exit and peered outside. He couldn’t see anything big moving around, but he could see a thick line of trees. He was going to have to make a run for it and hope that whatever the giant thing was wouldn’t catch him.

Pushing down his weakness, Keith tapped into his adrenaline, and he _ran_. Maybe it was his Galra instincts kicking in, but he had never felt faster in his life. He was almost to the trees when he heard a booming growl that seemed to rip through the air, and then the ground started to shake. Keith barely let himself breathe as he pushed into the forest, hearing something large slam into the trees behind him.

The trees were thick and close together, so whatever it was didn’t end up following him. There was still a chance that the smaller ones might though, so he kept running. He needed to put a bit of distance between himself and those things.

Without warning, his foot got caught on something. He fell and rolled on the ground, pain shooting up his leg.

For a moment, Keith laid on the ground, breathing heavily. He slowly pulled himself up, unable to stand as he used his arms to drag himself behind a tree.

Everything caught up to him. The pain in his shoulder and leg only added to the pain and general uncomfortableness that came with his heat. He breathed heavily, and tried to pull himself off of the ground, but the world spun around him, and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost to S5! So excited! 
> 
> Also I'm not sure if anyone has caught on yet, but this is in some ways a commentary on the A/B/O trope, as well as playing into the tropes too. Almost like working in things that made me think 'wait that doesn't make sense what' while also acknowledging 'this makes no sense whatever it's cute take it'


	6. Just Trust Me

“Kei—! Keith!”

Keith slowly came back into consciousness, fading in and out for a moment before focusing on the ground in front of him. He wasn’t quite sure what woke him up, but a part of him wished it hadn’t. His right shoulder and his left leg pulsed with pain, his lower abdomen was almost screaming at him, and he felt like he was going to jump out of his skin.

He needed to knock himself out again or something.  
  
“Keith!”

His head perked up, heart instantly racing in his chest. Using his left arm, he managed to push himself up so that he was sitting.  
  
“Lance?” Wow, his voice sounded _bad_. Like he was about to have a breakdown and was barely holding it together.

“Keith! Where are you?” Lance’s voice was relatively close, and for the first time, Keith remembered that Red had slammed into Blue, sending them both spiralling down towards the planet. Lance must have crashed too.

“I—“ Keith tried to get up the rest of the way, but his nerves screamed at him with the slightest movement of his leg. He cried out and fell back down.

He heard Lance call out his name again, and heard something moving in the distance. Either it was Lance, or those lion-dragon-monster things had found him.

“Oh god.” He looked up as Lance stumbled to the ground in front of him. Instantly, Keith felt better. He couldn’t even _smell_ him, but Lance was his boyfriend who was an Alpha, his Alpha. He’d protect him.

Damn, Keith really hated that side of himself. He _wasn’t_ weak. He wasn’t.

“What happened?” Lance babbled, sounding both panicked and irritated. “What did those things do to you? Holy crow!”

“Something big broke Red’s eyes,” Keith muttered, grimacing as Lance helped him up. “They got in. I ran. I tripped and fucked up my leg. What happened to you?”

Lance was scanning his injuries, and when he spoke, his voice was serious and gruff. “Blue was powered down and I knew you crashed close to me, so I went to find you, and Red – he’s okay by the way – was surrounded by these weird things, but some were by the woods too, and I could smell you, so I ran in after you. They tried to grab me but I just kept running. It’s starting to rain so it was hard to track you.”

“Huh.” Keith looked up, only now realizing that there was a light drizzle of lavender liquid. He grimaced a bit as lightning flashed overhead, and Lance physically flinched beside him.

The Alpha took a deep breath, and his entire body tensed up more. Keith looked at him, and he said, “Come on, I’ll help you up. We need to find cover somewhere.”

Lance slung Keith’s arm over his shoulder, hand going around his waist as he helped him limp forward. They didn’t go quickly, but moved steadily.

The rain picked up, and it was an absolute downpour of violet by the time Lance found a cavern created from the roots of a tree. Lance eased Keith onto the floor, and then knelt in front of him. Keith took the moment to look him over, checking to see if there were any injuries. His Alpha being injured was unacceptable.

Wait, what?

“You’re bleeding,” Lance said, reaching out and running his hand along Keith’s cheek, and then looking down at his shoulder. “What happened to your armour? This looks bad.” He inhaled, and his entire body completely tensed up.

Then it hit Keith. Lance’s helmet was only covering his eyes, not the rest of his. He had been tracking him based on his smell. This meant that he was exposed to his Omega-in-heat scent. Lance wasn’t just any Alpha, he was Keith’s boyfriend, and that made things different.

Part of Keith instantly felt excited, because he had wanted Lance to be around him. Lance was a good person who would probably give him whatever he needed or wanted, _especially_ because they were dating.

Holy shit, what was he thinking? Lance wasn’t the problem here. He trusted him not to go into a rut, especially since they were in a bad situation, and that _should_ have been enough for Keith too. The Omega side of him wanted something very specific, something that the rest of him absolutely did not. What the ever-living hell?

For his part, Lance wasn’t having a very good time, because Keith’s smell was really strong and almost intoxicating. It was so sweet and appealing, like all of his favourite things combined into one delicious package, and that just wasn’t fair. But there was something bitter twisting into it.

It was fear.

That snapped him back into the right frame of mind. Lance could distinctly remember feeling Keith’s pure misery when they formed Voltron. Now he was in a situation he definitely didn’t want to be in: cornered by an Alpha (boyfriend or not) while injured on a strange planet that had a hostile species that could be hunting them while he was in heat.

For a split second, he had wanted to mark Keith as _his_ Omega, but that part of his Alpha had vanished without putting up a fight. Instead, he wanted to protect his Omega. Keith was proud and would insist he could take care of himself, but dammit if Lance didn’t try. He wasn’t much of a typical aggressive Alpha, but he’d do his best to help how he could.

“Hey,” Lance said to him. “I need to check your injuries, just in case, okay?” He held up his own wrist and hit a couple buttons, using the scanner that was there. They were both silent for a moment before the results appeared. “Your shoulder just looks like bruising, and your ankle is sprained, but no broken bones, so that’s good!”

Keith nodded his head, shifting a little bit so that his legs were held close to his chest and he shifted uncomfortably. “This sucks. I can’t believe I’m here with you.” Keith’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t mean—it has nothing to do with _you_! Just in general.”  
  
“It’s fine.” Lance shrugged it off like it hadn’t hurt a bit. He reminded himself that Keith wasn’t always the best at communication (actually, he kind of sucked at it), and this was a bad situation for someone in general, let alone an Omega in heat. He sighed and tried his comms again, figuring that Keith would feel better if he could get someone else there as soon as possible. No luck.

The Alpha stayed on the opposite side of the cavern, though it was driving him crazy. Keith was clearly cold, uncomfortable, and Lance couldn’t recall a time he had seen him so visibly scared or shaken. He had no idea how long they were going to be there, but he needed to find something to help him with. They had a couple water packs in their utility belts, along with some Altean painkillers that would probably help, but aside from that…

Lance turned to look at the forest outside of the root system they were hiding in. Through the rain, he could see thick, orange moss-like stuff on the side of the trees, and an idea came to him.

“I’ll be right back, wait here!”

Keith blinked and watched Lance leave. Whatever the Alpha was doing, it wasn’t what he expected. Part of him was actually extremely disappointed, because there was an Alpha that was basically _his_ Alpha that could breed him there, but wasn’t showing any interest in him.

The rational side of Keith was glad that Lance had a good grip on himself, because he sure as hell didn’t. He couldn’t smell the Alpha, but wished that he could. He wanted to know if Lance was actually as interested in him as he was him. Or would he simply be more protective like Hunk would be?

A surprised chirp escaped Keith’s lips as Lance came stumbling back into their shelter with mounds of moss-like substance in his arms.

He stared at him as Lance approached and dropped it in front of him, puffing up proudly. “I know it’s not the same, but it won’t hurt you and it’s pretty squishy, so I thought you could make a temporary nest or something? Don’t worry, I scanned it to make sure it was harmless.”

Keith blinked again, staring down at the moss, a bit put-off by the colour. He reached out and touched it, liking the springiness of it through his glove. He was exhausted, he was injured, he was uncomfortable, and he was pretty sure that he was burning from the inside out. Now he felt like he wanted to cry. No one had ever done something like this for him before. “Thank you.”

Lance’s face lit up with excitement. “I’ll be right back with some more while you get that set up. Then we’ll take a look at that arm of yours!” He hurried away again, but as he did, Keith caught a distinctive wince on his face. Lance’s hand went to his abdomen for a minute before he hurried off again.

Keith rearranged the moss (there was actually quite a bit of it), adding onto this temporary nest as Lance brought him more and more. He was beyond flattered by this, something warm settling in his chest.  

 The Alpha seemed incredibly excited, but Keith could tell that he was tired and sore too. He knew he hadn’t imagined Lance’s pained expression earlier. Crashing wasn’t fun by any means, nor was running from angry lizard people and their giant whatever-it-was that had claws as big as him.

With that in mind, Keith got to work at arranging a second pile of moss a little away from his. His instincts were screaming at him to just invite Lance into his nest, because it _would_ lead to things that yeah, they were ready for, but no, they were not at all ready for the potential consequences.  
  
Despite this, Keith still wanted Lance to be comfortable too.

It was different from Keith’s, more like a small sleeping spot spread out, while his was built up around the edges.

When Lance came back, he stared at the second pile, and asked, “What’s that?”  
  
“It’s for you,” Keith admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed. “You seem tired too.”

Lance handed him the last of the moss and went to work examining the bed Keith made him. The Red Paladin wouldn’t lie, he was a bit nervous. He wanted to impress Lance with what he had made with the limited materials.

Lance flopped onto the make-shift mattress, grimacing a bit, but then shifting around and beamed up at him. “This is awesome. You didn’t have to.” He looked towards Keith’s nest. “You did a really amazing job with that too. You’re really good at building nests.”

Keith couldn’t hide the blush that overtook his face. He felt so warm because Lance liked not just the bed he made for him, but his nest as well. He tried to shrug it off, but ended up wincing as pain rushed through his shoulder.

Instantly, that brought out the protective instincts in Lance. He sat up and frowned. “I know I scanned it, but can I see it?” He reached out by stopped. He bit his lip before saying, “You have permission to stab me if it seems like I’m about to do something stupid, but I swear to you, you can trust me.”  
  
“What?”

“Okay, real talk.” Lance leaned forward a bit. “You smell _ridiculously_ good right now. Like everything good I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s that intense.” Keith’s face flushed. “The thing is, when we formed Voltron, I could feel how bad you were feeling and it’s…it’s not cool that you have to go through this for a week straight every three months and then have to deal with idiots like me on top of that. Like…you’re not completely in your right mind so how could that be consensual in any way, shape, or form unless it’s planned beforehand?”

He paused for a moment to let that sink in before adding, “I know you can protect yourself because you’re a badass who decided ‘screw my biology I’m flying this lion into battle’ and could probably take me out, but you don’t have to. You can relax. I would fight anything that came through there right now to keep you safe. I promise.” He tilted his head slightly. “Trust me?”

Keith stared at Lance, unsure of the feelings going through him. There was the stubbornness of wanting to insist he’d be okay on his own, there was the flattery and pride that Lance was being such a good person, and unfortunately, there was that Omega side of him that was almost screaming at him (no brain, they were _not_ going to have Lance’s children, so shut the fuck up), prompted by the warmth in his chest.

“I trust you,” Keith choked out, his entire body shaking. “Oh god, Lance, I really do trust you. I don’t trust myself. I don’t want to…guilt you into doing something that you don’t want to because why the hell would you actually want to with—not the point. I just…I can’t…”

Lance swallowed and slowly reached out, pressing his hand against Keith’s bloody cheek, his eyes dilated and probably not just from the low light. “What are you talking about? Firstly, we’ve already had sex before, and it was awesome. Secondly, yeah, of course I want to do it again but we have no protection and that’s the biggest problem, right? And…” Lance trailed off, looking almost confused. “My brother, Theo, he’s an Omega and he told me that _other_ kinds of sex during heats are frustrating or almost painful?”

Keith slowly nodded in response to Lance’s questions, his heart fluttering at what he had admitted. “That’s true. Extreme oversensitivity and not in a good way.” It really, _really_ sucked.

Lance nodded his head. “Right. Well, I’m sorry if me being here makes your pain worse. And I need to get you patched up too.”

Keith slowly nodded his head. Like he said, he trusted Lance. He’d follow his lead for now.

Moving out of the nest, Keith took the white armour around his chest and arms off. He also whimpered when Lance helped him remove part of his black under armour, just enough to check his shoulder.

 The Alpha tentatively looked at the injury. “I know I said it was bruised but ugh, it’s bad. How did this even happen?” He shook his head, not actually caring about the answer right now. “I think I have some of that topical pain cream, the stuff that we can use with the other painkillers that numbs certain spots, that Coran gave us. Want me to put it on?” Lance’s fingers brushed across the black and blue skin, and he inhaled deeply.

Keith shuddered as Lance leaned his forehead against the back of his skull. They sat like that for a moment, Keith vaguely realizing that his scent gland was right there, completely exposed to Lance. All he’d have to do is lean down slightly to bite and mark him. “Yes,” Keith blurted out, trying to focus.

Lance pulled away from him slowly, going to his belt and digging into it. He handed Keith one of the pain killers, grimacing as he swallowed it dry. “Heathen. Who does that?” He found the small tube of cream, took off his gloves, and put just the tiniest bit on it.  
  
“Me,” Keith muttered, eyes fluttering a bit as Lance rubbed the cream over his shoulder. It stung, but the stinging quickly turned into numbness, causing him to relax a little more. He allowed Lance to clean the cut on his cheek, putting one of those fancy Altean bandages on it. He then went to Keith’s leg to put the cream on that as well. “There. That should help a little bit.”

Keith couldn’t really find it in him to respond. He was basically putty in Lance’s hands right now and would probably do anything that the Alpha asked of him.

He was trapped on a strange world with strange hostile creatures and their giant pet, hiding out in the woods during a storm, with who knows what kind of dangers around them, yet he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this safe. His eyes fluttered and he found himself leaning against Lance, a soft purr rumbling in his chest.

Lance brushed his thumb over Keith’s cheek. He wasn’t used to seeing him so vulnerable, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It made a sort-of pride flare up in him, because _Keith_ trusted him enough to keep him safe, trusted him enough to act like this around him when he had pushed through who knows how many heats on his own without any of them knowing.

His insecurities could fuck themselves, he was pretty sure he could take on Zarkon himself at this point and come out on top.

Keith looked up, indigo meeting blue. The two held each other’s gaze in the dimly lit cave, Lance’s hand resting on Keith’s cheek.

Keith didn’t know who moved first, but the next thing they knew, they were kissing one another. His hands went to Lance’s hair, and Lance’s other hand came up to his uninjured cheek. Lips softly moved with one another, more sweet and affectionate than needy and passionate. His lips parted, and a slight moan escaped his lips as Lance’s tongue brushed against his.

At some point, Keith found himself falling back into the ‘bed’ he made Lance, the Alpha hovering over him.

Lance broke away from him. “Oh god. We can’t do this right now. I really want to, like, I _really_ want to, but we can’t.”

“We could,” Keith urged against his better judgement.

He chuckled, his gaze affectionate. “We just had this discussion. No. Not this time.” Lance got up, and pulled Keith up off of the moss mattress, ignoring his unimpressed whine. He gently shoved Keith into his own nest after fixing his under armour so it was on properly. “Go on, get some rest. I’m here.”

Keith huffed a bit, but ended up curling up in the nest. It really was uncomfortable. Not the nest itself. It was as good as they could get right now, and the effort Lance put into trying to make him comfortable meant everything.  He forced himself to calm down and close his eyes. He needed to relax before it became so unbearable and he did something to send Lance into a rut. Then neither of them would be in their right minds. Not to mention conception was almost a guarantee when an Omega was in heat and their Alpha was in a rut at the same time.

That was easily one of his worst case scenarios here that didn’t involve the native flora and fauna. So for now, he’d relax and trust his boyfriend to keep him safe.

…

“Okay,” Lance muttered to himself. “Calm down, calm down. Keith needs calm right now.” It wasn’t exact easy to fight off his instincts to give in and give Keith what his heat-addled mind wanted. What made it was easier was the fact that the Alpha within him also desperately wanted to protect the Omega too. In fact, that took priority over anything really.

He focused on the situation at hand. Lance doubted that they’d be there long, and even if their stuff didn’t work, Pidge would be able to locate them from their armour. They had a bit to drink, but nothing to eat, and no way of knowing if anything here was safe to consume. There was the potential that they were being hunted by the aliens, and if not, they were probably staking out their lions. Hopefully if the others found them, they could pick up Red and Blue instead of trying to fight their way to them.

Lance never had any intentions of going to sleep, though he was extremely flattered that Keith made him something so cozy to lay on. It definitely beat sitting on the cold ground, especially since he was pretty sure he had bruised ribs. He couldn’t help but smile warmly at the Omega that was normally so rough around the edges. There was definitely so much more to him, and he wanted to learn everything, good and bad.

He kept his bayard in its gun form, leaning it on his lap. He was shooting anything that came through that opening, unless it was one of the other Paladins. Keith – fierce, stubborn, amazing Keith – trusted him to protect him. Trusted him to not do anything while he was at his weakest, even if he asked him to. He was not going to let him down.

The Alpha in Lance reminded himself once again that Keith was very much a willing Omega at the moment. He’d give him anything that he wanted, and it was so, so tempting. All he’d have to do is crawl over there and run his hands on him the right way. He wouldn’t even have to say anything. He also knew that Keith wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make any real decisions, and he wasn’t going to do _anything_ with him unless he had 100% consent. He wasn’t going to be one of _those_ Alphas that pushed themselves on a vulnerable Omega, or anyone, for that matter.

No one was hurting his Omega in any way, shape, or form. Not even him.

His face burned. Okay. His Omega. That was cool. He’d thought it several times, and even said it to Keith, but it still got him flustered.

Lance looked around at Keith again, his once-rival, and his now-boyfriend. The thought of that made him smile. He was so glad that any true hostility between them had vanished long ago. Getting on one another’s nerves at times and disagreeing was normal, but they _knew_ how to work through that now. Competing with one another was not only a way to prompt the other to work harder, but it was also jut fun.

It was funny to think that this only turned out the way it did because they ended up in space. Who knows, maybe if Keith had stayed at the Garrison, it might have happened anyway, but there was really no point in wondering. While Lance desperately missed home, he was kind of glad he ended up where he did.

His family was fairly old-fashioned in how they handled mating. If he was home, his Mamá and Papá would have outright told him that they needed to claim one another since they had already had sex.

Actually, his Papá probably would have been a bit horrified to know how Keith handled that entire situation. She probably would have whispered about promiscuity, but would have gotten over it since Keith was loyal to Lance and not actually promiscuous. She would have _insisted_ that they get married sooner rather than later. His family was really into that. The idea was an add-on to marking one another, which was the only thing that _really_ mattered. Getting married was just singing some papers so that they were partners in the government’s eyes too (it helped for benefits and taxes), followed by a party. His family liked to go hard with said parties.

How traditional his family was, was partially why Lance was glad that he and Keith had decided to take a step back and figure things out, do things right, before jumping back into that type of relationship. As far as his family was concerned, sex only happened after becoming mates.

Lance had to wonder if he would have gotten together with Keith anyway, Garrison or not. As much of a flirt as he was (until he was in a relationship because he was loyal and wasn’t going to seriously flirt with anyone who wasn’t Keith…and maybe Hunk, but Keith _understood_ that), he was a romantic, and kind of liked the idea that they would have found one another anyway. It depended on their lives back on Earth.

Maybe he’d talk to Keith about it all. There was really a lot that they _should_ talk about, including where they saw _them_ going in the future.

The thing was, Lance wasn’t really sure about how much he could push or pry. He got the distinct feeling that Keith didn’t have a very good childhood, but he had kept relatively quiet about it. He still seemed pretty distant from everyone, but more and more, Lance got the impression that it wasn’t exactly what he _wanted_ to do.

He could still picture the Keith that he had built up in his head from the Garrison. The boy that he had tried to introduce himself to, only to be shrugged off. The student that seem to get everything without even trying. He had high marks, yet he never showed up to study sessions or ever seemed to have a book with him outside of classes. He was a prodigy when it came to flying, to the point where none of them had even come close to him, and any extra hours he logged in the flight simulators weren’t for practice like everyone else, they were purely for fun.

Lance liked to proclaim that they were rivals, but at the Garrison, they had been on two separate levels of existence, and that had hit him hard when he was confronted with it. It left a bitter taste in his mouth at the time, like he was easily overlooked.

He was the youngest sibling of six, and already his parents had two grandchildren to fawn over – no doubt plenty more coming from the others sooner rather than later. Despite what people said about middle-child syndrome, if you were the youngest of _so_ many successful siblings, you were compared to all of them, and it wasn’t fun at all. Sure, he had been spoiled, and definitely babied a lot, but that never stopped him from hearing ‘your brother did this’ or ‘your sister did that’. He loved his family, he knew they loved him, but they had an awful habit of making him feel like he couldn’t do anything right. That he was only a loud goofball.

In the Garrison, it had been Keith who had prompted those same feelings the most, and given that he was at the top of the class, it prompted Lance to declare Keith his rival – the one person he needed to beat. Everyone else in the way was just stepping stones to his ultimate goal. Maybe then those feelings of inadequacy would go away. This continued on as Paladins.

It was ironic, now that he thought about it, that Keith was the one that made him feel like he was worth something, that he wasn’t a seventh wheel. After all, such an independent, fierce, beautiful omega (that also has trust issues a mile wide) had chosen _him_. Chose to rely and trust him without hesitation or question when he was normally so wary by default.

He glanced over at Keith, smiling slightly. The fact that Keith, an Omega currently in heat, trusted Lance enough to sleep on a hostile, alien planet said more than words could say. It made his heart leap.

More and more, Lance could see that his picture of Keith at the Garrison was wrong. Just like there was more to him than being a flirt (though he did _like_ to flirt – something he needed to do more with Keith because he bet he had the _bes_ t reactions when directly confronted with pickup lines), but he often hid that behind a façade of bravado.

He had seen Keith apologize for his anger. He’d seen him burst into laughter over Hunk’s jokes even when no one else would. He’d seen him reach out to help Pidge without any question or hesitation. He’d seen him genuinely get lost in Coran’s wild stories. He’d seen him step forward to protect Allura without truly knowing her. He’d seen him hug Shiro and genuinely worry about him.

He’d seen him try to reach out, to overlook the silly rivalry claim, only to be rejected.

That thought made Lance want to whimper. He hadn’t even known that it really was a big deal to Keith until Pidge told him. Sure, he had teased Keith, but genuinely couldn’t remember their ‘bonding moment’. Logically he _did_ know that he didn’t float to the healing pods. Meaning the Omega had most likely carried him to the medical ward.

The thought of Keith carrying him around should not have been appealing, since he was the Alpha, and he should have been doing the carrying, but there the thought was, and it wasn’t going away. Keith could carry him around anywhere any day as far as he was concerned. They could take turns.

Lance looked at the entrance of the cave, inhaling to try and catch any scents. It was too bad that the purple rain seemed to cut all other scents off, but at the same time, it was good because it probably covered their tracks too.

He strained his ears, but outside of the sounds of the rain and occasional thunder, everything was quiet. Lance kind of wished that he had enhanced hearing, but that was just a wish. Though his eyesight was almost beyond perfect, so there was that.

Staring out of the cave, Lance took the silence to actually think about what he wanted. He liked Keith a lot, and _not_ just because he was an Omega.

He liked the fact that Keith genuinely competed with him. He didn’t just assume that he was better (most of the time). It was strange to think that Keith saw him as an equal, but it made his cheeks warm and a smile spread across his cheeks.  
  
He liked the fact that they could joke around with one another now. He liked that they could just sit with one another, cuddling quietly, maybe doing their own things, and be content. He liked a lot of things

Lance liked to think that he was a simple person, and really, that validation, that he wasn’t just a waste of space and he was actually doing something worth-while, was really all he needed.

Keith whimpered a bit in discomfort as he shifted, but he didn’t wake up. Lance wanted to reach out to him, but knew that it could easily be considered an invasion of privacy since it would be reaching into Keith’s nest. The Red Paladin trusted him enough to fall asleep on a strange world with only him there, he was not about to break that.

Lance’s heart raced. He was pretty sure that if he approached, Keith would urge him into the nest, which spoke more than anything else. Not yet though. Things were still too new, but Lance was determined that things would be different next time.

Lance wasn’t sure how long they were there, but the rain eased up eventually. Keith stirred from time to time, clearly having a hard time being completely comfortable, but he stayed asleep. Lance had never actually spent such a prolonged amount of time with an Omega in heat, and the exhaustion and apparent discomfort weren’t what he was expecting. He didn’t like it at all.  
  
It made him blush a bit to think that Keith might have ways to help the discomfort if he was back in the safety of his nest on the ship. That was a thought he viciously beat out of his head. Instead, he had to focus on protecting him, even if he was getting tired and had a headache.

“I’ve got you,” Lance muttered. “You’ll be okay. You’ll see.”

Keith shifted again, curling in on himself slightly. He whimpered a bit, opening his eyes and staring at Lance in clear distress.

The Alpha frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s so hot,” Keith muttered. He picked at his under armour for a moment before shifting around.

Lance could tell he was warm both from the pink tint to his cheeks, and the bit of sweat on his face. He really wished that there was something he could do to help, but they didn’t have anything that he could use as a cloth or a towel to wet in the rain and give to Keith. Well, his shirt, but he was keeping his armour firmly on. He didn’t need Keith reacting to _his_ scent too.

“Hey,” Lance looked at him. “Want me to take your tank and wet it in the rain? Might help a bit?”

Keith groaned but nodded his head. He struggled to take his under armour off of his shoulders and down his chest, stopping at his waist. He tugged the black tank top off and tossed it towards Lance.

He had to hide his burning cheeks as he went to let the rain soak the fabric. He groaned at the pain in his abdomen, no doubt from bruising and sitting in one spot too long. It was a good distraction from other things.

He took the opportunity to look around, but it was hard to see beyond the sheets of violet rain.

Walking back in, Lance draped the fabric on Keith’s head. The Omega snorted and grabbed it, wrapping it around his neck instead. “Keeps you cooler this way,” he muttered. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied with a warm smile. “The rain’s purple.”

“I noticed when we ran in it. Planets are weird,” Keith replied. He paused and then added, “I like camping though.”

“O…kay?”

“If it wasn’t for my heat, and crashing our lions, and the things that might be trying to kill us, getting away from everyone and camping would be fun.”

Lance laughed a bit at that. “So we’re only around a B date instead of an A+ one. I can work with that.” Slowly, he reached out and ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, causing the Omega to close his eyes and purr slightly. It was adorable. “Go back to sleep. We’re still good.”

Keith opened his eyes again and looked at Lance. Instead, he pushed himself up, grimacing a bit from the pain. He reached out towards him, and Lance grasped his hand. He let out a surprised cry as he was tugged forward, nearly falling into Keith’s nest but just managing to stop himself. That didn’t deter the Omega at all, who shifted so he was at the edge of the nest, looping his arms over Lance’s shoulders and nuzzling his face into his neck as best as he could. It had to be uncomfortable due to his armour.

“What’s wrong?”

“Feels better when you’re close. Would be better without the armour.”

God, Lance wanted to climb into his nest with him. He knew that they couldn’t do that though. “Maybe, but I’m not going to do that.”

“Thank you,” Keith replied, startling Lance a bit. “I’m not—I’m not okay right now. Thank you for keeping it together. Sorry if I ever made you think the team couldn’t count on you. If I did, I was wrong.”

Lance swallowed heavily and nodded his head. He was extremely glad that Keith couldn’t smell him right now, because his opinion might be incredibly different if he realized just how much Lance _wanted_ to be all over him.

Or maybe he’d be even more impressed, but it wasn’t something Lance wanted to test.

“Don’t worry. I gotacha. We make a good team, right?”  
  
“Are you going to remember this bonding moment?”

He snorted. “I told you, I really _don’t_ remember that!” He ran his hand up and down Keith’s bare back and quietly muttered. “I wish I did though.”

Keith’s shoulders relaxed slightly and he leaned away to look at Lance. How had he thought that those eyes were just angry in the past? Maybe the Omega could keep his face schooled, but his eyes reflected the scents that Lance could catch.

Lance hummed slightly as Keith kissed him again. As much as he wanted it to be more than just a sweet, gentle kiss, he knew that was all he could handle at the moment. He pulled back slightly and said, “Go to sleep. Hopefully the rain will clear by the morning and the others will find us.”

“You too,” Keith insisted as he shifted back into his nest without any arguments, tugging his damp shirt over his head again, but not sealing his under armour again. He grimaced a bit as he shifted against the moss, skin flush and clearly uncomfortable. He motioned towards the moss bed beside the nest. “You need it too since I’m going to be useless, and I know you’re hurting too.”  
  
“You’re not useless!” Lance decidedly  ignored the second part.

“I’m an Omega in the middle of my heat with a messed up arm and leg,” he pointed out dryly, sighing as he shifted again. “You’re the one that’s going to have to fend off any enemies if they show up and you need sleep.” He paused. “Next time I try to go in Red when I’m in heat, remind me of this.”

Lance snorted and laid down on the moss bed. He really was tired. Though he hadn’t been injured in his crash landing the way Keith had been, he had slammed into Blue’s console pretty roughly, and Keith was right, it did ache a tiny bit. Not to mention he was starting to get a killer headache. Adrenaline was protective Alpha instincts did wonders as pain killers apparently.

Maybe Keith was right. Maybe he could use a bit of shuteye too. It wouldn’t be for long, and Keith was such a light sleeper anyway, let alone when he was a bit paranoid from being in heat, that he’d probably wake up at the slightest sound.

Everything would be fine.

…

Keith’s eyes snapped open as he heard a sharp crack – the sound of a branch breaking. Slowly and quietly, he pushed himself up to stare at the entrance of the cavern. His heartrate spiked when he realized that the rain had stopped, and while Lance still wore his armour that kept his scent hidden, he did not.

He felt so tired, so hazy and twitchy. All he wanted to do was curl back up and whimper, let his Alpha take care of this. Well, he wanted Lance to do a lot of things, and fighting against acting on that part of himself in one way or another was exhausting. At least if they were back on the castle he could deal with it on his own.  
  
Oh wow, there was something lurking outside of the cave, and he was worried about the fact that he wanted to jump Lance and couldn’t. Fuck heats, this was why Keith hated everything about them.

Trying to be quiet, he nudged Lance, knowing that the Alpha could be a little bit of a heavy sleeper. He was more than a bit surprised when Lance didn’t stir at all. He tried again, only to get a light groan.

Instantly Keith knew that something was wrong. His heart thundered in his ears as he used his good arm and leg to drag himself closer to Lance. His skin felt a little cooler than normal to the touch, and his pulse was a bit thready.

Lance had seemed find yesterday but, Keith realized as he looked him over, his suit was sealed tightly, and would have hid anything underneath. If Lance was hurt, he chose to focus on Keith instead, because of course he did. Lance had thrown himself between Coran and an explosion after barely a few days of knowing him.

Or maybe he had been so focused on Keith that he hadn’t even realized it himself.

Keith’s mind ran over how Lance had been moving yesterday. His arms and legs seemed fine, and, hysterically, Keith realized that he had no idea if his breathing had been harsh or normal. There were no abrasions anywhere, so he wasn’t cut, and it took a lot to get through their armour that way anyway.

But it was flexible, and if Lance had slammed into Blue’s controls while falling (not being belted into his seat maybe), it could have broken his ribs, or he could have some form of internal damage or bleeding that wasn’t obvious right away.

He needed to calm down and focus. Right, he had something that could actually _tell_ him what was wrong with Lance instead of just fretting about it. He grabbed the discarded armour and used the system in his gauntlet, heart leaping into his throat when it indeed detected both broken ribs and internal bleeding.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Keith muttered, wishing that he wouldn’t have been right. His mind started running over what he could do, when he heard movement from outside again. There was definitely something moving around. It wouldn’t matter what he could do to help Lance if they were attacked. They needed to get back to the castle.

Steeling himself, Keith put his armour back on properly, including the damaged one that pressed on his arm in the wrong way. It was better than going without it.  
  
Gritting his teeth, Keith forced himself to stand up. He stumbled a little bit on his sprained ankle, but once again his adrenaline kept him going.

His hands curled by his thigh, bayard appearing in his hand, and forming into his sword. He wondered if there was a way to change the hilt of the sword, since it was awkward to use at the best of times, but he made due. There was no time to worry about that now.

One of those _things_ from earlier suddenly dropped down in front of the entrance. It sniffed the air, pupils narrowing into slits, and Keith realized that it was smelling _him_ , not Lance. It probably didn’t even realize that the Alpha was there. He could work with that.

It rushed at Keith, who was quick to project his shield in front of him. It slammed into the energy, and Keith forced it backwards. His legs shook from that alone, pain coursing through him.

Another creature fell in front of the entrance, and Keith’s breath hitched. He couldn’t let them get to Lance.

Keith ignored his ankle screaming at him and rushed forward, using the shield to slam through the creatures. He skidded on the wet ground and spun back around so that he was facing them again. Sure enough, the creatures didn’t even look at the cavern, focusing on him instead.

Then three more jumped out of the trees, and the five of them started crowding him.

Keith held his breath, keeping his shield up and sword at the ready. There was no way he was going to be able to fight all five of them on his own, not in this condition.

A high-pitched yelp escaped his lips as something grabbed him from behind and threw him. Keith’s shield vanished and his bayard fell to the ground as his back slammed into the tree. The komodo dragon-lion-person thing looming over him was bigger than the others, but not nearly big enough to be whatever had attacked Red.

Keith tried to scramble back, but he was already pressed against the massive trunk of the tree behind him.

The creature leaned in close and smelled him. Confusion rushed through Keith, because it seemed more interested in smelling at his broken armour than attacking him.

His hand inched towards his luxite blade. Whatever was happening, he didn’t like it.

Keith’s mind suddenly reeled when he remembered something Coran had warned him about before. Galra could breed with almost anything, and many species were actually drawn towards them due to this.

Nope, no. He wasn’t going there with his mind. That was not happening. His fingers curled around his knife as the creature smelled him. He gripped it tightly, and then swung his arm around. The blade cut through the creature’s arm with ease, causing it to let out this unholy wail and jerk away from Keith, tar-like blood splattering on the ground.

The other creatures ran at Keith. Panic shot through him, but before he could even scramble to get up, the trees above him burst into flame. Red – still broken in spots – came rushing through the flames that he had probably started, throwing the creatures aside with a flick of his metal paw.  
  
“Red,” Keith breathed out almost hysterically. He pushed himself up and teetered forward. The lion arched gracefully, opening his mouth for Keith to enter.

“One second.” Keith limped back to the cavern, where Lance was still sleeping. It was a struggle, and he could only say that adrenaline and sheer stubbornness allowed him to pick Lance up, walk out of the cavern, and climb into Red. He didn’t even get to the pilot’s chair, instead collapsing on the floor beside Lance.

…

Lance’s eyes snapped open, and he found himself stumbling forward. He was cold and confused, but then warm arms caught him. He blinked rapidly and looked up, meeting dark grey eyes.  
  
“Shiro? What? How?” He looked around, memories rushing back as his entire body tensed. “Keith! Where’s Keith? Is he okay?”

“Calm down,” Shiro ordered, though his voice was soothing. “Keith’s fine. Do you remember what happened?”

“I—I fell asleep on that planet Keith and I crashed on. We were in a cave and agreed to sleep. You guys found us? Why was I in a pod?” Lance asked wildly, trying to slow his mind down, but he was far too confused and anxious.

Shiro urged Lance to sit down, sitting beside him and keeping a hand on his shoulder. A smile appeared on the man’s face. “Lance, you had broken ribs and internal bleeding from the crash. It was bad. You almost…” He trailed off.

Lance’s heart jumped as he mentally finished the sentence. He had almost _died_. “I—I didn’t know! There was pain in my stomach but I thought it was just probably some bruising or something. I could still move and talk fine and everything!” He could be careless with his own health, but he genuinely hadn’t noticed.

“I believe you,” Shiro assured him with a nod. “Keith said something about the aliens attacking while you were unconscious, and Red saving you guys. Makes sense, because we found Red with Blue and you guys unconscious in him. They were protecting you two from this giant…I don’t even know how to describe it. Alligator, chicken thing?” Shiro made a face and then shrugged. “We got you out, and put you both into the pods. Keith got out a few varga ago.”

“He’s okay?” Lance prompted, his hands shaking slightly. He was tired, he was sore, he was hungry and thirsty, and he wanted to make sure that his boyfriend was okay. From the sounds of it, Keith had ended up protecting him, when he was the one that was supposed to protect the Omega. Not that he was ashamed of it or anything. Actually, that was pretty awesome, but still!

Shiro hesitated slightly. “Physically, yes. We—uh—well apparently pods don’t help being in heat. It seems to make it worse, if anything. He’s all healed up, but given what happened, he’s a bit of an anxious mess and is in his room. I helped him get there, but now he doesn’t want anyone else with him right now.”  
  
Lance whimpered at that. “Think he’d let me in?” He needed to apologize for being so useless again.

“He wanted to stay with you,” the Black Paladin said, a sad smile on his face. “But he was also understandably…shaken. He’ll probably be happy to see that you’re okay.” He shifted slightly. “Before you go though, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Nervousness rushed through him. Yes, he was dating Keith, would hopefully one day be mates with him (sooner rather than later), but Shiro was currently the closest thing the Omega had to family. Sure, they weren’t biologically related, but once Lance got to see more of who Keith really was, it was easy to tell that the two of them saw one another as siblings.

So Shiro was essentially Keith’s brother. A brother who could probably crush him with his perfectly defined biceps.

Shiro’s smile turned into a soft one. His scent shifted, and if Lance wasn’t mistaken, he smelled rather…happy? Proud? It was the same smell that he caught wind of during their successful group bonding moments. “Keith…the idea that people actually want him around, of bonding with people, is a really touchy subject for him. He gets these walls up, pushing everything else away so he won’t get hurt. Even I let him down that way.”

Lance nodded his head, knowing where this was going. He had let Keith down too. That didn’t explain Shiro’s scent though.

“When I took him to his room, Keith told me about everything that happened, and you need to know just how proud of you I am. How you behaved, how you treated Keith, that’s something _you_ should be proud of. It’s not something all Alphas could have done.”

Shock hit Lance hard. Shiro was proud of him? He wasn’t angry or anything else? He didn’t think that he screwed up?

A warm feeling rushed through Lance at the praise. “I just wanted to protect him. I didn’t—I kept thinking about how miserable he was and then I thought about how some Alphas would take advantage of the situation and that thought made me sick and then I remembered that Galra don’t really care about different species, and so I decided that _nothing_ was coming near him. That was what everything was telling me to do – keep him safe. And I am rambling. Sorry. But, like, it isn’t something to really be _proud_ of, you know? It’s just being a good person.”

Shiro sighed. “I wish that was true.” He shook his head and motioned to the wall, no doubt referring to the void beyond the castle. “Human issues seem so small when you compare them to a galactic war, but they’re still important to us. Reality is, there is a huge power imbalance amongst the people in our world. So many people see Omegas simply as _breeders_ and not as their own people. What you’re saying makes complete sense, but in reality that’s not how things are done. It’s how they _should_ be done,” he placated, having seen Lance about to protest, “but there are a lot of really shitty Alphas out there. The ones that claim ‘I can’t help it, it’s my natural instincts’. You’re a young, healthy Alpha that was stranded with a wounded Omega that was in heat, one that you’re in a relationship with, and you controlled yourself completely – even if it was difficult for you. You destroyed their arguments that proved that, yes, people can control themselves. That’s why you should be proud – not patting yourself on the back for a job well done – but for learning and growing. For rising far beyond the low, crappy standards the rest of the world set.”

Oh hell, Lance was not going to cry at that. He sniffed and said, “Thanks, Shiro.” It truly meant a lot to him to hear his hero say that.

“You’ve really earned Keith’s trust, you know that?” Shiro added after a moment. “Keith…a lot of people have hurt him in his life. A lot of people have let him down, including me. So I’m _glad_ that he has you. I’m glad that you have him.” A slight smile appeared on his face. “Acknowledging his strengths but also taking care of him are great ways to prove to him that you’re serious and not just drawn in by the fact that he’s an Omega. Not to mention, I think he’s good for you too.”

“Shiro!” Lance cried out, his cheeks going red. “You’re not supposed to say things like that! Aren’t you supposed to be all ‘stay away from my brother or I’ll gut you’ or something?”

The Black Paladin took it in strides though. “Of course not. Keith would gut you if you did something that he doesn’t want.” Shiro paused, and Lance let that sink in because, okay, that was true. “But if you insist…if you do anything to hurt my little brother, I have a weaponized hand strapped to me 24/7.” A thoughtful look appeared on his face. “Not that 24/7 means anything to us anymore.”

This was a wild conversation, and Lance didn’t know what to really make of it. One thing still held true from the moment he woke up though. He was tired. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He wanted to see his boyfriend.

Shiro helped him up and made sure that he was steady, staying with him as they walked towards the kitchen. They had their moments together, but Lance always felt giddy when Shiro acknowledge him. He was realizing that the Black Paladin wasn’t this perfect person that he always thought he was, but that didn’t stop him from almost fanboying at times.

Once he ate, Lance insisted that he could get to his room on his own. He thought about going to Keith first, but decided that a shower was probably a better idea. He stunk like mud and medicine, not the most appealing scent on the best of days, but to an Omega with heightened senses? Keith would probably toss him out of his room. Literally.

Lance enjoyed his shower, scanning himself for any leftover bruises or scars. Everything seemed to be fine though. He tugged on his pyjamas, not really caring about what time it was because he was going to sleep no matter what, and making his way to Keith’s room.

Remembering that the door wouldn’t open from the outside, he knocked and said, “Keith?”

In seconds, the door flew open, revealing the wide-eyed Omega dressed in loose sleeping shorts and a tank top – clearly designed to keep him comfortable and cool. The scent of his heat really hit Lance in full-force, but oddly enough, he didn’t focus on that. Instead, he focused on Keith’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Am—“ The distressed whine that came from Keith’s throat didn’t at all suit him. “You wouldn’t wake up and I thought I couldn’t protect you and you’re asking _me_ if I’m alright? Idiot Alpha.” He blinked away any wetness that came to his eyes.

Lance shifted forward so that they were in Keith’s room and not the hallway. He put his hands on Keith’s upper arms and said, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know I was that hurt. I’m sorry. You’re amazing. You were injured and in heat and you still saved us both. You’re amazing – covering for my screw up.”  
  
“You were taking care of me,” Keith breathed out in frustration. “You didn’t screw up – okay well you did – but you were focused on me and not yourself. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t get to be sorry. I do.”  
  
“No. I do.”

“Excuse you. No. Me.”

“What? No!” Keith’s brow furrowed, one of them twitching slightly as he pouted. It was absolutely adorable.

They both stared at one another, and Keith’s expression softened first. “I thought I was going to lose you.” There was a vulnerable look to him as his gaze went to the floor and he hunched in on himself slightly.

Lance put his hand under his chin to guide it up so that they were eye to eye again. “I’m here. I’m real. I’m okay. No stupid injury is going to keep me away for long. None of your pushing me away nonsense will either. You’re stuck with me…until you genuinely tell me to back off.”

“I don’t want you to back off,” Keith blurted out, cheeks flushing slightly. “I—“ His eyes turned to his nest before looking back at him shyly. “Can you stay with me? Just – you know – to sleep. In my nest.”

Though Omegas were plagued by terrible spells of arousal during their heats, sometimes just the comforting scents of Alphas they trusted were enough for them to pull through – albeit – with a bit of discomfort. That usually meant the Alpha staying nearby the nest, but not in it. Being asked to come into a nest, even if it was just to sleep and not for any kind of sexual reasons, was still a huge thing.

It was different from the cavern. That had been a survival situation and there was really no way for them to be comfortable with it. Emotions and adrenaline had no doubt sent Keith’s mind out of wack there. He definitely seemed more stable now that he was back in the safety of his own room.

“Yes,” Lance breathed out, smiling as he saw Keith smile. Honestly, falling asleep curled up with him sounded fantastic right now. Anywhere where he could smell and feel Keith, and know that they were both safe and sound was perfect.

Keith took him by the hand and led him over to the nest almost nervously. That made sense though, since it was a big deal. Keith climbed in first, looked at him with that same shy expression, and tugged him forward.

Unlike back in the cavern, Lance allowed himself to be pulled forward. They maneuvered awkwardly around one another until they were both on their sides, Lance spooning Keith close to him.

They were silent, laying together peacefully, until Lance whispered, “This is an amazing nest, by the way.”

Keith chuckled, and Lance got the distinct feeling that he was preening a little bit. He snuggled back closer, and Lance gently squeezed his arm around his waist just a little more.

The Omega’s natural scent overpowered any heat pheromones that might have driven Lance crazy in another situation. It was sweet and calm, happy and safe, causing Lance to feel blissfully peaceful and tired.

Maybe they had things to talk about, but for that moment, all that mattered was that they were safe and warm with one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished writing super quickly and wanted to update before the new season dropped. I'm hopefully going to watch it tomorrow morning. Sorry this note is going to be a little longer, there's something I wanted to explain.
> 
> I have read A/B/O fics before and most of the time you see the Omega as completely mindless, sex-driven. I wanted to portray that different scenarios may prompt them to react differently. It’s funny, because when you look at it objectively, heats in nature are all about procreation, and they were turned into a kink where one half of a ship is super submissive and the other is super dominating, but said ship might be able to lead to babies (lets be real here we all know I’m referring to mlm ships). 
> 
> I didn’t want that here at all. Along with not writing smut, if that's what you're looking for, this probably isn't the fic for you. Yes, Keith does feel the heightened arousal, but no matter what, he’s more than just his hormones, and pheromones. 
> 
> As for why Lance didn’t ‘help’ Keith, I wanted to play the idea is that an Omega’s body wants to conceive, that’s literally the function of heats, so anything that kind of might take away from that doesn’t really work out. Certain stimuli in certain areas of the body (aka trying to get off in any way that isn’t vaginal) prompts more pain than pleasure. Does this make scientific sense? No, not really. Then again this whole thing doesn’t make sense so there’s that! I am actually taking most of the 'sexy' parts of this and throwing it away. *shrugs*
> 
> Keith and Lance are responsible. They don’t want a kid right now and they have no protection. That means abstinence. 
> 
> Also, I keep going back and referring to aliens with animal features because that’s what people tend do. They take something new and try to find the familiar in it. It’s a very natural thing for us to do and is why we can pick out shapes in clouds, see specific constellations, and sometimes see Jesus on toast.


	7. Monsters We Knew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't normally like to put notes ahead of chapters, but please be aware that this chapter talks about an attempted assault/rape. There is NOTHING graphic. The incident is just explained rather vaguely. Anything after "Pidge certainly hoped so." and before "The Galra were certainly monsters, but they were far from the only ones out there." talks about it a little more, though it is mentioned and discussed along with other things after this point in this chapter.

A sweet smell reached Lance, causing him to smile as he breathed in deeply. A quick glance over his shoulder let him see Keith, who came over and gently sat beside him on the couch. He had largely given Keith the space he needed during the rest of his heat, though he did sleep in his nest with him at nights. It was a good balance for a first heat as a couple without being too much for the Omega.

He twisted a bit so that he could stare at his boyfriend. “Hey man. Feeling better?”  
  
“Yeah.” His shoulders were tense, and it was almost like he was trying to make himself look smaller. “I did some thinking in the shower – you know how it is.”  
  
Lance did indeed. His shower thoughts tended to get wild.

“Well, I realized that I needed to apologize to you.” His face turned red and he looked towards the floor.  
  
Lance’s eyebrows shot up. “About what?” They had gone over the whole feeling like they were bringing each other down thing already and had settled that.

“I kind of kept trying to throw myself at you when we were in that cave,” Keith explained, looking far too embarrassed. “And I realized just how…bad that probably was for you, because you could smell me. I wanted to say sorry for doing that. And thank you again for keeping your head straight.”

“Firstly, nothing about me is straight. Secondly, apology _not_ accepted,” Lance said, and Keith’s head shot up, eyes wide with shock. Good, Lance wanted him to make eye contact. “See, the thing is, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“Nothing?” Keith’s voice rose up. “Lance, I was out of my mind on that planet. If it wasn’t the fact that you have awesome self-control I would have…” He trailed off, crossing his arms in front of him. Instead of across his chest like normal though, his arms were lower, crossing over his abdomen.

“Hey, I’ve got your back,” Lance assured him. He slung his arm around Keith’s shoulder, a thrill rushing through him when the Omega nudged closer. His heat was over, but there was always a more intensely sweet smell in the couple days afterwards, one that made Lance want to coddle him.  “I—I’m serious about this, and I’m not going to do something that I know you don’t want when you’re in your right mind. I—we don’t even have any kind of protection or preventatives here either so yeah, it probably would have ended up badly.” He winked. “I am the sharpshooter after all.”  
  
“Lance!” Keith tried to shove him off, but Lance just started laughing and hugged him tightly. “Get off, dork!”

“I’m like quicksand. The more you squirm the tighter I hold on.”

“Death take me now then.” Keith went boneless and slumped against him.

Lance chuckled and nuzzled his face into his hair. “Really though, you can trust me. I will never do anything you don’t want me to do.” His smile faded away. “The fact that you seem to think you have to apologize to me for something you couldn’t help just—well—any Alpha can control themselves if they try. Shiro and I talked about that.” One of his hands went down to Keith’s, intertwining their fingers and playing with the glove on his hand. “You must not have known many decent people,”

“I didn’t,” Keith blurted out, and then looked away.

“Do you want to talk about it? Believe it or not, I’m a great listener.”

Keith shifted a bit, looking up at him with guarded eyes. “It’s…not easy. I’m not used to just…talking to people about things like that.” He looked down at their intertwined hands.  
  
Sighing sadly, Lance rubbed the hand that had been on his shoulder up and down his back. “You’ve been alone for a long time, haven’t you?”

“The foster system isn’t good to ‘problem children’, especially when their biological family didn’t want them either,” Keith admitted in a quiet voice. “I apparently had some kind of uncle out there that didn’t want me. Never met him, but he still said no. The last home I was in wasn’t too bad but…well…I wasn’t much of a person to them. Just something broken for them to try and fix to make themselves feel better. You know?”

Lance didn’t know, but he wanted to. He didn’t want to push it too much, since Keith was _finally_ opening up to him a little bit. That one small admission really said more than it seemed. Foster system meant that Keith was either an orphan, or his parents weren’t around for other reasons. Problem child meant that he was probably picked on a lot and got into fights over it, taking the blame. Being rejected by his living family screamed of even more problems.

He didn’t say anything about that. Instead, he gently pulled Keith as close to him as he could get without him being on his lap (though he wouldn’t mind that), and couldn’t hide the thrill that rushed through him when Keith rested his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“I was 16 when I met Shiro, and it took a while, but he was the first person that was really there for me, you know?” Keith leaned into his warmth a little more. “He was the first person since my dad died when I was 6 that I thought might actually care, and I _do_ know he does, but losing him at Kerberos – having the whole thing blamed on him – really hurt.”

Lance’s first thought was that, holy shit, that was nearly 10 years of being shipped around from place to place, probably feeling unwanted with every move. “It’s okay to hurt, and you’re close to Shiro again now.” He paused, pursing his lips. How did he explain this? “Family is…it’s something you _choose_ , not necessarily something you’re born with. If those things are one in the same like with me, that’s fine. If it’s not, that’s fine too, right?”

Keith thought about that before slowly nodding his head. “I guess. I mean, for all I know I could have more family on my mother’s side. I could have cousins. I could have brothers or sisters that are Galra, or half-Galra. I don’t…I’d choose all of you here before any of them. That’s what you mean, right?”

A smile lit up his face. “Yeah, you got it.”

“It’s hard,” the Red Paladin admitted. “I guess I’m just…still waiting to screw up badly enough that everyone wants to leave, or wants me to leave.”

“Hey, hey, no,” Lance said with a shake of his head. He let go of Keith’s hand, placing it on his cheek instead. Keith allowed him to tilt his head back so that they were staring at one-another.

Lance studied his features, from his pale skin, to his dark mullet that he somehow managed to rock, to his uniquely coloured eyes. He felt like he could see everything he was thinking in those eyes, no matter how much Keith tried to hide it. Dammit Lance, focus. He could ogle Keith later. “We all might fight with one another, we might say things that hurt, maybe even on purpose at time, but I know for a fact that no one on this ship would want to lose you. We’re all a pack now, and you—you can trust me. You can rely on me. I know you’re strong. You’re…better than me at pretty much everything. You have a place here unlike—well…you belong here.” He coughed awkwardly. This was _not_ about him. “Anyway you—“

“I have a place here unlike you,” Keith said, leaning away so he could see Lance’s face. Everything about his expression and scent portrayed skepticism. “That’s what you meant, isn’t it?”  
  
“Don’t worry about it. I just—“

“You belong here, Lance,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I may have found Blue, but you brought us here. You’re an important part of Voltron, to everyone else.” Keith ducked his head and his voice lowered. “And to me too.” Keith laughed almost bitterly. “God, I didn’t want this to happen.”  
  
“What?” Lance’s smile dropped instantly.

“It has nothing to do with you,” Keith assured him. “I just…it’s easier…safer to keep people away than to let them in. They only hurt you then.” He looked up at him. “Maybe my mother abandoning me – and then everyone else leaving – left me with a few…abandonment issues. I guess I’ve got some walls up but you—how do you keep getting through them?”

Lance really wanted to just cuddle this man, because this explained _so much_ and he hated that something made him feel this way. “I am a stubborn bastard, and no matter how many times you put those walls back up, I’m going to smash them down.” Fiery certainty came over him. “I’m not leaving. The Grim Reaper will have to pull me away kicking and screaming.”

Keith laughed at that, smiling up at him with a bit of leftover sadness, but also barely concealed happiness. “Promise?”  
  
“I’m here as long as you want me to be.”

He nodded. “That’s good, because you’re not just a waste of space or useless. Voltron needs you, and I do too. More than I ever thought I would. But I guess that’s a good thing.”

Lance was absolutely, one hundred percent gone. No other Omega, Beta, or anything else would _ever_ compare to this. He was positive now that _Keith_ was the one he wanted to be with, and he was going to do everything in his power to prove that he wasn’t going to leave him.

He closed the space between them, pressing their lips together. Keith made a small sound of surprised, but responded quickly enough.

Yes, Lance was sure that this was where he wanted to be.

…

When Pidge originally asked him about getting scans to see exactly how his body was different from both a human and a Galra, he had only hesitated for a moment before agreeing. When he wanted to know something, Keith became almost relentless.

Coran pointed out the importance of knowing how his body worked, since it would be some blend of two things that had never combined together before him.

Comparing Keith’s scans to all of the other Paladins, they found out some interesting things. His reaction time really was higher than the average human like they had hypothesized, and his other senses were a little bit higher. Coran said that his hearing was above average for a human, but less than that of an Altean. His sense of sight was much better than both though.

“Wait, you mean people can’t see in the dark?” Keith asked with confusion. He had never questioned the fact that he could still make out things in low light. Yeah, there was less detail and the range was limited, but he could normally make things out well enough. He genuinely thought that it was a normal thing.

“You know, if you weren’t so isolated growing up, you probably would have realized sooner that you weren’t entirely human, “Pidge noted, shining lights in his eyes. Delight crossed her features.  “They reflect! Kinda like cats! That’s amazing! Galra’s are like giant space-kittens! Well, some of them.”

He scowled at her. “I’m not a kitten, Pidge.”

She just smiled wickedly at him. “Of course not.”

Outwardly, he was entirely human, and he was assured that, though Galra DNA adapted, he wasn’t about to get purple skin, yellow eyes, or fluffy ears. It just didn’t work that way. Galra weren’t shapeshifters like Alteans, nor did their basic physical appearances change during their puberty or anything like that.

His metabolism was higher, he needed less sleep, and he just seemed to have more energy stored up in his body. His preference for meat over vegetables and fruit also made more sense, even if his teeth were purely human.

“Okay, but your canines actually are a tiny bit sharper,” Lance pointed out. “Not weird enough to been seen as abnormal but yeah, definitely sharper.” He smirked. “I would know.”

Keith ran his tongue over his teeth to double-check, and did pick out the difference, but then realized what Lance was implying and glared at him.

“Pretty sure he could still draw blood if he bit you hard enough,” Hunk spoke up from the couch.

“Oh, he can.” Lance screeched when Keith threw a pillow at him and knocked him off of the couch.

Pidge had been the one to bring up the fact that hybrids were generally sterile. Keith had shrugged it off at the time, not caring, because he knew he was an Omega, therefore he couldn’t possibly be sterile, right? And if he was, what did it matter? Then he thought about it more, and found that he didn’t entirely like that idea.

More and more lately, he found himself gazing at Lance, and found that the idea of not being _able_ to have children, of being a broken Omega, bothered him a lot. Lance insisted that he was in for the long-haul, but they hadn’t actually discussed where they were going or what they wanted. It was something they _should_ do, but Keith froze any time he thought about bringing it up.

Not to mention, if he was sterile, life was a huge dick for forcing him to go through heats in the first place.

Keith realized that he largely came down to the fact that, while he didn’t want his biology to dictate that he _had_ to have kids, he also didn’t want it to dictate that he _couldn’t_ have one either. He wanted to make the choice for himself and no one else.

So Coran had decided to run a few tests for him when he brought it up. Pidge was also involved, since they wanted a purely human Omega to compare to (apparently they already had records of pure Galra in the system from a long time ago and their base biology hadn’t changed in 10,000 years). The tests were simple, he’d scan them and take some samples from both of them twice. Once when they were in heat, and once when they weren’t. It had been delayed a bit when Keith skipped his previous heat, but he was able to do it during his most recent one.

“It’s fascinating, really,” Coran said after he summoned both of them to the med bay.

“So it is different?” Pidge asked curiously.

“Yes.” He nodded his head and looked between the two of them. He tapped a screen, and a plain outline of human appeared. It didn’t at all look like Pidge, but they assumed that it was her scans. “Now, from what I understand, and from what the tests have shown, humans can _only_ become pregnant during their heats, right?”

“That’s right.” Pidge nodded her head. “Any other time is a no-go. Eggs are secure in the ovaries at the time.” She made a face. “A lot of people take advantage of that.” She eyed Keith.

He made a face back at her. “It was only once! Let it go!”

“I could,” she teased him, “or I could keep reminding you that your first solution to handling Lance in a rut was to drag him into a room.”

Keith felt his face burning, but he narrowed his eyes. “Keep going and I’m going to describe it all in detail.” They paused and stared at one another, daring the other to speak up first. “Including dick pics from Lance.”

Pidge snorted loudly. “Of all the things for you to know, you know what a dick pic is!”

Keith blinked. “I—I did go to high school? I was at the Garrison? Technologically advanced Garrison? I repaired my own hover-bike?” That he stole from said Garrison, but no one needed to know that and also they deserved it.  “Why does everyone always get shocked when I know what they’re talking about?”  
  
“I’m 95% sure you spend most of the day stumbling through conversations, not knowing what’s going on, but surviving anyway.”

Keith mumbled something under his breath and sounded suspiciously like ‘people’ an ‘confusing’, which was fair. She found people just as confusing as he apparently did. She threw herself into technology, and he threw himself into whatever research he found interesting at the time or training.

“Hmm,” Coran hummed, catching the attention of both Omegas. He was looking from one scan to the next, before saying, “Well, Keith. It would appear that you got _incredibly_ lucky during you rendezvous with Lance.”

Pidge couldn’t stop herself from bursting into laughter as Keith face turned red enough to match his lion. Keith looked like he wanted to either drop through the floor or stab something. Maybe both. Probably both.

Keith glared at her and nudged her gently with his foot. It wasn’t very effective since they were both sitting on the floor anyway.

“I’m not quite sure what’s so humorous?” Coran questioned, though his moustache seemed to twitch at Pidge’s laughter.

“Getting lucky is an Earth colloquialism for having sex,” Pidge explained with a snicker. “Which _definitely_ happened.”  
  
“Pidge!” Keith glared at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. He flipped her off. They were both terribly mature.

“Ah, I see where the confusion came from.” The Altean man nodded his head. “That is quite funny. However, the fact that, by all means, Keith _should_ have conceived at that point of time, it really isn’t something to laugh at.”  
  
Pidge immediately went quiet, and Keith froze. “What?”

Coran tapped a button on the holographic tablet in front of him, prompting a screen to appear in front of them. “This is a Bearer, the child-carrying Galra comparable to human Omegas like you two. By default, if we were trying to classify Keith as a Galra, this is what you’d be. They are able to conceive children at any time.”  
  
“Really?” Pidge burst out, instantly focusing on the glowing outline and certain inner organs that were highlighted for them to see. “Their basic reproduction system looks nearly identical to a human’s – which is weird in its own right – though the ovaries _do_ look smaller. I suppose that if an egg was _always_ around to be fertilized the Galra would go through less of them than Omegas with their once every three-month cycle.”

“Correct.” Coran nodded his head. “Now Pidge, you mentioned that a couple days at the end of heats, you bleed, correct?”  
  
“Yeah.” She nodded her head and pushed up her glasses. “All Omegas, male and female, do. It’s shedding the lining that we built up in our bodies that would eventually be the placenta. It only lasts for three days at most.”

“Keith.” Coran turned to him. “Have you ever experienced that?”

Keith stared at Pidge with wide eyes. “No. I thought that was just another stupid Alpha or Beta-assumed thing in books.”  
  
“You—never? Like… _never_ never?” Pidge asked. “I just thought that you weren’t comfortable bringing that up! What the hell?” She just assumed that it was a subject Keith was uncomfortable with for some reason, but in retrospect, that was a bit stupid. He didn’t like personal conversations, but never seemed to have problem with facts unless she started rambling and using words that he just didn’t get.

Keith shook his head, his skin now so pale that she was worried he’d faint.

A third scan appeared, this one was no doubt Keith’s. It looked very similar to Pidge’s but there were a few differences. “A Galra’s scan doesn’t change at all unless they’re with child. These are your scans and Pidge’s when you’re not in heat. Notice the difference?” He pointed at a few things.  
  
“It looks like the Galra,” Pidge noted, focusing on the specific spots he pointed out. Her eyes went wide as the puzzle pieces clicked together. “Oh! Oh quiznak!”

“Are you telling me,” Keith spoke up, his voice so low that it was almost hard to hear, “that I can get pregnant outside of my heat? At any time? That’s why I don’t bleed like Pidge?”  
  
“I’m afraid so,” Coran said with a nod. “Galra only shed the placenta after giving birth. It slowly builds up after that, but it takes about a year – meaning it’s impossible to conceive another in that time.”

“But…I…Lance and I…but I’m not…” Keith looked so bewildered that it was almost physically painful to watch.

“He was detoxing,” Pidge said, snapping her fingers. “There’s preventatives – contraceptives – in the suppressants that they give you at the Garrison. That stuff is powerful, and lasts for a ridiculously long amount of time. The preventatives are usually the last thing to leave the system.” She looked at him with serious eyes. “Coran was right. It’s sheer dumb luck that you’re not pregnant right now.”

Keith felt like he was going to throw up.

“There is more,” Coran said, almost reluctantly.

Pidge could admit to herself that she wasn’t exactly the most perceptive person when it came to other people, but it was painfully obvious that Keith looked like he was about to throw up. She wasn’t sure if it was better for them to take some time to breathe, or to just get everything out there quickly so there was no wondering anymore.

Keith took a deep breath, and Pidge found herself carefully inching closer to him. She didn’t touch him, not sure really how to go about comforting someone that way since she was sure Keith wouldn’t be down for a hug, but still wanted to be close to show her support. “Just…tell us.”

Coran pressed a button, and her scan changed. “Now, as you can see here, this is what Pidge looks like when she’s in heat. You are a very healthy and fertile Omega.”  
  
“Yay,” she supplied sarcastically. Normally that would have gotten a twitch of a grin from her fellow Omega, but he still looked ready to puke.

“And this is Keith’s scan.”  
  
“Holy shit!” She burst out as the screen changed. “Keith, what the hell? That looks like heat on steroids!”

“Yes…well apparently instead of your human and Galran DNA cancelling each other out and making you sterile, the Galra DNA adapted, as they do. It would appear that it makes you… _very_ fertile during your heats.” Coran looked almost hesitant. “In fact, just from looking at this, I think it would be almost a _guarantee_ that you would conceive during heat, not just have it as a possibility.”

Keith went completely quiet, just staring at the screen with wide eyes.  Pidge shifted, not quite sure what to say or do. She had never actually seen him so _still_ before. After a moment, she slowly reached out, placing her hand on his arm. “Keith?”

Whether it was the touch or the sound of his name, Keith suddenly sprang into action. He was up on his feet and _fled_ from the room, not bothering to stop.  
  
“Wait!” Pidge rushed after him, as did Coran. By the time they got to the door though, the much faster Paladin had vanished down the hall. She was about to run after him, but Coran put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
“Leave him be for now,” he advised her. “We dropped quite the bomb on him right now.”  
  
“What if he has a panic attack or something?” Pidge asked, because she felt like panicking.

“He’ll be okay.” Pidge felt the Altean squeeze her shoulder comfortingly. “Number Four is tough. He’ll be alright.”

Pidge certainly hoped so.

…

He didn’t know how far he ran in the huge castle, but soon Keith realized that couldn’t breathe properly. He tried, but the air just wouldn’t reach his lungs. He stumbled a bit, his hand slamming into warm metal. He blinked several times, recognizing the silver and red as his lion.

Immediately, the mechanical cat bowed down, opening his mouth to allow Keith in. He didn’t hesitate to rush up, collapsing into the pilot’s seat. He curled up into himself, trying to force himself to just breathe. In and out.

Red encouraged him, sending him comfort, and also the desire to fight whatever had hurt him.

He choked out a laugh. This isn’t something his lion could help him with.

Keith’s mind ran a mile a minute, and he felt like he was going to throw up. Back in the cave, he had tried to get Lance to have sex with him, and if the Alpha didn’t have such a strong grasp over himself, he _would_ be pregnant right now.

He had been thankful for Lance’s restrain before when it was just a possibility, but it was nothing compared to what he felt now.

Then a worse thought hit him, his mind pulling him back in time to that first heat after he had left the Garrison. He could still see the cold, brown eyes and slicked blond hair of the Alpha that had pushed him against that wall. He could suddenly feel his fingers and lips. He could feel the same panic and disgust that had hit him back then. His fingers were twitching for his blade.

He was so lost in his memories, that he didn’t realize Red was once again allowing someone to enter him.

“Keith!” A gentle, familiar, safe scent managed to break through his terror. Strong fingers grasped his, carefully prying them from where they had been tugging at his hair. “Good, that’s good. Can you look at me?”

Slowly, Keith opened his eyes and looked up, meeting Shiro’s worried but warm grey ones. The older man smiled at him. “Good job. Breathe with me, okay?” It took a moment, but he managed to match Shiro steady, deep breaths. “You okay now?” Keith started to nod his head, but ended up shaking it instead.

Shiro sighed and nodded his head. “That’s fair. Come on, lets get out of here.”

Keith hesitated, before slowly taking the hand Shiro offered, allowing his brother to pull him up. He placed a hand on his back and guided him out of Red.  
  
“Coran got me,” Shiro spoke as they walked quietly, keeping his hand firm. “He didn’t say what was wrong, but that you might need someone with you.”

Keith crossed his arms in front of him. “It’s nothing.” Wow, he didn’t even believe himself.

Shiro hummed thoughtfully. “Would you like me to get Lance?”

Keith’s first instinct was to say yes, but it made him feel a little pathetic. Surely he could handle this without his boyfriend. He had for years. Though there wasn’t anything _wrong_ with relying on others, was there? It was just hard. So he settled on a shrug.

Shiro led him into one of the lounges, and it took Keith a moment to realize that it was the one located in ‘Lance’s territory’ in the ship (which was really just a single hallway very far from Hunk’s hallway, but it helped make sure their Alpha instincts wouldn’t clash).

He sat on one of the couches, arms crossed. His Alpha’s scent managed to calm him a bit. Shiro sat beside him. “What happened? Coran said something about doing scans and comparisons to figure things out.”

“Maybe Lance should be here,” Keith choked out. He was going to _have_ to explain this to Lance too. He’d rather explain it only once rather than over and over. “I—I think I owe Pidge and Coran an explanation too.” That would just leave Allura and Hunk out – the Princess and the Pack Leader – that wasn’t right, and again, Keith would rather only explain this once. “Maybe everyone?”  
  
He didn’t _want_ to talk about this, but figured that he needed to.

Shiro nodded his head. “Right. Stay here.”

Keith nodded and looked down at his hands. He was an idiot. It wasn’t that big of a deal. There was no reason for him to freak out like he was. Surely he was stronger than this. He crossed his arms again, nails digging into his skin and raking down it, leaving red welts in their places.

God, Lance was going to be disgusted with him when he told this story, because he knew he was going to have to.  He was kind of disgusted with himself.

Keith jumped a bit as Shiro came back with Coran, a guilty expression marring his face. He looked so much older than normal, reminding Keith that he was, in fact, ancient.

“I apologize, Keith,” he said softly. “I had no idea the information would be so distressing.”  
  
Keith took a deep breath, comforted by Lance’s scent. “It’s not that. It’s not. It’s something else.” He looked down.

“What’s going on?” Shiro asked, his voice becoming a little more demanding. He was staring at Coran, not Keith.

Before he could answer, there was a commotion at the door. Lance stumbled through, and would have fell on his face if Allura hadn’t grabbed his arm. Pidge and Hunk were behind them, both looking worried.

Lance hurried over beside Keith, blue eyes scanning him with worry. It was an emotion that tinted his protective smell, but that didn’t matter. His scent calmed Keith even more than Shiro’s did.

Sitting beside him, Lance reached out and took Keith’s hands into his. He didn’t admonish him for scratching himself, but made sure that he wasn’t doing it anymore. Keith took in a shuddering breath, and let the Alpha’s scent calm him a bit. The smell of his entire pack around him, including Coran and Allura, helped a lot.

“You know we have been doing some research on Keith’s biology, yes?” Coran spoke up. “Well…” He continued talking, and by the time he was done, Keith had managed to nestle himself into Lance’s side, Shiro sitting on the other side of him with Pidge and Hunk nearby. It was the safest he had ever felt without being in a nest.

“Oh Keith,” Allura said, her teal eyes filled with a sympathy that had been absent for weeks. No, that wan’t true. It was there when his heat began and she brought him those blankets, wasn’t it?  
  
“It’s not _that_ ,” Keith said, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “I can deal with that.” Lance was awfully tense beside him, no doubt going over the time he was in a rut and Keith slept with him to help him. Luckily, Coran hadn’t gone into that or Pidge’s theory on why things turned out okay. “I just…I…”

“It’s okay,” Shiro assured him. “You don’t _have_ to tell us, but we’re all here for you.”  
  
“Yeah man,” Hunk agreed. “If something bugs you that much…”

Keith took a deep breath. “Pidge, I sort of mentioned this to you before, but, um, Shiro…when I left the Garrison…when I got kicked out…it was less than three months before I detoxed.” That made all of the other humans stare at him oddly. That was utterly unheard of.

Then again, Shiro distinctly remembered Keith complaining about having to get a special prescription because of how many he needed and how some of the nurses thought that he might be peddling it to some people. Now that he thought back, Keith had been monitored very carefully at first to make sure he wasn’t doing that. It had baffled everyone, but was chalked up to his unknown mother’s genetics. Now that he thought about it, that was probably right.

Pidge’s eyes went wide. She knew where this story was going, and she had pieced together exactly what set Keith off, judging by her horrified expression.

“When my heat hit, it was really, _really_ bad, and it came out of nowhere. I had nothing, so I had to go get things,” Keith said quietly, crossing his arms in front of him again. Lance slipped one arm around his shoulders, uncharacteristically silent. “When I was there – when I was heading back, I—there was this Alpha…” He squeezed his eyes shut. Ugly brown eyes, not warm and comforting like Hunk’s. Slicked back blond hair that was so pale it was almost white, but not shining and beautiful like Allura’s. “He tried to—but he didn’t—and it was a while ago now and I’m okay. I would have been okay on my own. I had my knife. I was going to use it.” He went from stuttering to rambling, wanting to get through it. He could smell how _angry_ and horrified everyone felt. “This Beta couple stopped him before I could do something that got me in trouble, and they were amazing and nothing happened. I’m okay. But what Coran said…it made me think that _if_ I wouldn’t have been able to get away I would have…” He couldn’t say it. If he wouldn’t have been able to get away, if he had been weaker, he would have ended up pregnant with his _rapist’s_ child.  
  
It made him almost gag.

“Do you know who it was?” Shiro asked, his voice tense.

“No.” If he did, Keith wouldn’t say anything. Otherwise, the next time they were on Earth, Shiro would probably hunt the guy down and kill him. Judging by the fact that he was shaking, Lance would probably help out with that.

“You’re safe now,” Hunk said, his voice breaking through the tension. Strangely enough, his calm also radiated promised pain to the person that had assaulted Keith. “Nothing happened, and you’re here with us, and nothing bad is going to happen.”

Pidge choked on a sob and shifted around everyone else, almost throwing herself on top of Keith in a hug. “I hate people. I hate that they think they can do this to people like us.”

Keith blinked rapidly, patting her back awkwardly with one hand. “I know. I know we’re safe here. I just—I panicked.”  
  
“Don’t you dare apologize for that,” Allura spoke suddenly, startling them all. “That is a horrifying event and you did nothing wrong. You can’t be blames for…for actions that _you_ didn’t commit.” Her bright eyes spoke volumes about the fact that she was talking about the topic at hand, but everything that had been happening between them as well.

“That’s right,” Lance forced out, his voice gruff. “You’re a complete badass anyway, but we’re here too. No one is going to hurt you like that.”  He suddenly looked at Pidge. “Neither of you.”

Pidge nodded her head. “I know. I can’t imagine being with a safer pack in that regard.”

A small smile appeared on Keith’s face. “Yeah, you’re right.”

He was lightyears away from his assailant. He had _not_ been forced to carry that monster’s child, but it made him sick to think that someone else probably had. Keith doubted he was the first or the last for that person.

The Galra were certainly monsters, but they were far from the only ones out there.

…

With his comfortable beanbag chair in place, and a plate of warm cookies (well, sort of cookies) in arm’s reach, Hunk sat patiently and waited.

Sure enough, a familiar, rapid knock echoed through his room. He cleared his throat and said, “Come in!”

Lance basically stumbled into the room like his legs couldn’t hold him up anymore, falling into the beanbag chair in an ungraceful heap.

“You okay, dude?” Hunk asked cautiously.

“I just spent the last hour running the hallways to burn out my aggression,” Lance admitted, face-down in the beanbag chair, so it was a bit harder to hear him. “And I’m still pissed.” Lance pushed himself up and shifted around so that Hunk could see his face.

If it wasn’t written on the pressed lips and narrowed eyes, his anger was definitely noticeable by his scent. It was almost pungent, causing Hunk to grimace a bit. There was nothing that could be done about that.

“Okay, so,” Lance continued on, “First, Keith finds out that he can get pregnant at _any_ time. Like, what the fuck? Why didn’t we think to look up how Galra reproduction before?”

“To be fair,” Hunk interjected before his friend went off on that specific topic, which wasn’t the ultimate problem here, “Keith didn’t know he was part Galra when you guys got together.”

“Okay, point,” the Blue Paladin agreed. “Doesn’t change the fact that we got _so_ lucky. Maybe—maybe there’s something wrong with me? Not that I wanted it to happen, but that’s still a bit…alarming?”

Hunk melted a bit at the fear in Lance’s eyes. He _knew_ how much family meant to his friend, and although he would get over it and adopt kids, he knew that Lance also wanted some of his own. That paternal urge to care for a family often started hitting around their age, which was why so many people mated and had pups in their early twenties. Lance probably felt that from time to time. Hunk knew he did, expect he channeled that into taking care of their pack like he was supposed to.

Luckily, this was one thing he did have an answer for. He shook his head. “No. You’re fine. During a detox the last thing that flushes out of your system is your contraceptives. Probably _because_ of how often Alphas go into ruts while detoxing. Makes sense.”

Lance snorted and pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes before dragging them down his face. “So we just got really lucky. Okay. I can deal with that part. Part two though, apparently Keith’s mixed genes means that it’s almost impossible for him to not get pregnant during a heat, right?”

“I’m no biologist, but that’s what the scanned looked like to me,” Hunk admitted.

The other Alpha groaned. “Okay, I know you don’t like to talk about it, which is fair, but yeah…it took everything I had to – you know – not give in to Keith during his heat. If I had…holy shit if I had we would be having a _baby_ right now.” Lance seemed horrified by the idea. “I would be no better than that—“

Hunk’s shoulders tensed as Lance abruptly cut himself off, shaking slightly. “Someone _hurt_ him. Tried to do worse than hurt him. Keith—“ Lance looked down. “Keith isn’t as cold as we thought. He pushes people away because he’s—he doesn’t want to be hurt anymore. That type of thing…” Lance didn’t seem to even know where he was going with his own thoughts.

“Have you talked to him about any of this?” Hunk asked slowly. “Like, I mean, sat down and had a serious discussion about what you want to happen, what’s okay, what’s not, and all that stuff? Cause from where I’m sitting, Keith seems like the last person that’d be okay with kids, but who knows, maybe I’m wrong. And if—if he’s scared, that’s something you guys need to tackle together, you know?”

Lance’s head drooped slightly. “I know. I just—sometimes it’s hard. Don’t wanna throw all the blame on him, but Keith kinda really sucks at communicating properly. Makes things weird sometimes. But I guess I have to try, right?”  
  
“Exactly!” Hunk beamed at him, but then his face turned serious again. “But you said earlier if you would have – you know – knocked him up, you’d be just as bad as the guy who tried to hurt him. That’s not true, and I _know_ Keith would agree with me on that one.” Hunk stood up and moved over to Lance, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Go talk to him. Don’t leave it. Get everything out of the way so that you don’t get lost in your own head. I know it happens.”

The other Alpha sighed and then looked at Hunk with a smile. “You’re good at this. Helping everyone in the way they need it. I—I’m glad you’re our Pack Leader.” There was nothing but honesty wafting off of him.  
  
Hunk flushed a bit, the compliment instantly making him smile. He wondered about that sometimes, if he was doing enough to make everyone else feel safe, even though there was nothing he really _had_ to do – it wasn’t like there was a true right or wrong way to be a Pack Leader. He tried to be there for his friends, to make them feel safe.

It was nice to know that the other Alpha of the group, of all things, thought he was doing a good job.

“Thanks Lance,” he said to his friend, and then clapped him on the shoulder. “Now go talk to your boyfriend. The next time I see you both, you should smell ridiculously happy, got it?” Hunk suddenly made a face. “Well, not _too_ happy.”  
  
Lance snorted and nudged him, blue eyes brighter than before. He left the room much more confidently than when he came in.  
  
If that’s what Hunk could do for the team, lift them up when they were down, that would be enough for him.

…

Allura drummed her fingers together nervously as she stood outside of one of the many thick, metal doors in the castle. They were designed to be soundproof and able to adapt to many different kinds of species living habits. The Paladins had taken to them easily enough after some confusion with the toilets.

She wondered, sometimes, if they knew that there were specific suites laid out for the Paladins themselves. Allura knew that they were there, had peered in each room to check on them, barring the one allocated for the Black Paladin. She avoided that one, even if she knew it would have been empty. All of them were. The Paladins had cleaned up all out at some point, when they realized that scattering the lions throughout the universe was the best idea.

It still felt _wrong_ to use them, and so she hadn’t told her new Paladins about them. Maybe she should though. The past was the past, and it was so hard to let go of, but perhaps holding onto anger, pain, and sadness was doing her more harm than good.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door, quickly twisting her hands together in front of her as she bit her lip nervously.

The door slid open, and Keith stared at her with surprise. He looked around for a moment before asking, “Is there something wrong, Princess?” His voice was so tight and formal, not like _before_.  
  
Allura found that, out of all the Paladins, it was hardest to bond with Keith, and maybe that was why she struggled so much with the fact that he had Galra within him in some form. At that moment though, he didn’t look like the fierce, stern man that she had come to know. He just looked tired.  
  
Fighting bad memories could do that to you.

It was a bit ironic really, that Keith was who she struggled with. They really had so much in common, personality wise. The drive to brush personal needs aside, to keep pushing forward. The fact that they didn’t always connect with others or understand them on a personal level. Strong and capable fighters. Holding others at a distant to protect themselves since they had lost everything in their own ways.  
  
Yes, she could understand Keith very well. She just didn’t really want to admit it.

“No,” she answered. “I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me for some training?”

His face stayed blank, but his eyebrows furrowed slightly, eyes searching her face. He nodded his head and stepped out the door. “Sure.”

“Excellent.” Allura turned to walk, nodding for Keith to follow her. He stayed a couple paces behind her, and a quick glance over her shoulder let her see that he was keeping his eyes firmly on the floor.

He did look up when she turned down the hall beside the main training deck. He made a surprised sound, apparently not confident enough to voice his question. She smiled at him. “There is more than one place to train here.”

Allura threw open another set of doors to reveal a room that was much smaller than the training deck, but was filled with all kinds of exercise equipment. She turned around, and watched as Keith inspected it curiously.

“A lot of these things look like stuff we had on Earth,” Keith said eventually, looking towards her.  
  
“Yes, we had Altean equipment in here, but Shiro pointed out that it might not be the best thing for you all to use,” she admitted. Biting her lip, Allura tried to keep quiet but then said, “He decided that after our trouncerounder threw him across the room and he got stuck in our electric climbing net.”

Keith snorted, a smile started to break across his face. “He would. Surprised he didn’t make us try…whatever a…trouncerounder is?” He looked at her uncertainly.

“Yes, well, he tried to sketch out and show us things that would help all of you stay in shape.” She waved her hand. “It took some time to synthesize everything, and to be quite honest, I’ve been curious about all of this myself.” She may or may not have tried things a few times. “There is one that I originally thought was quite primitive, but it has proven to be one of the most cathartic things for me.”

She walked towards the back of the room, Keith following her. He stopped when they reached the area she wanted to go to, and asked, “A punching bag?”  
  
“A punching bag that will not rip or break,” she replied, looking to face him almost sheepishly. “I accidentally broke the first one, so Coran fixed one that was more…durable.”  She waved her hands towards it. “I find that when I picture myself punching Zarkon’s face, it’s quite the stress reliever.” She looked at him. “Perhaps you’d like to picture that awful person that tried to hurt you?”

“Allura…” Keith trailed off, looking quite confused. She couldn’t blame him, since Allura _knew_ that she was sending him very mixed signals. She was trying though, she just didn’t quite know how to approach this yet. She held her hands together nervously, hoping against all hope that Keith would understand her actions since she couldn’t form the words she wanted. A small smile appeared again, and he said, “I think that’s a good idea. Thank you.” He motioned to the punching bag. “Think you can hold it steady for me?”  
  
She jumped at the chance. “Of course! After you wrap your hands properly so that you don’t hurt them.”

He listened to her, and the two of them spend the next couple varga first with the punching bag, and then trying everything else within the exercise room. They didn’t really talk beyond short conversations about how to use each thing, and some encouragement, but that was fine. Allura actually appreciated it, and she knew that Keith did too.

…

The knock at his door startled Keith, but he relaxed quickly. “Yeah?”

“Hey man,” Lance said as he walked into the room, his hands in his pockets. He rocked back and forth on his heels. “So, uh…are you okay?” His bright blue eyes scanned Keith worriedly.

“I’m fine. Allura showed me a new exercise room earlier, and I just got out of the shower now,” Keith said. He had a pair of sweatpants on, and was in search of one of his tshirts, having just got out of the shower. “She told me to use the punching bag and pretend that it was…people I don’t like.” He went back to looking around his room. “Where’s my other shirt?”

His casualness seemed to make Lance relax a little bit. He walked farther into the room and said, “Want one of mine?”

Keith stopped and looked at him. The thought of wearing Lance’s clothes instantly caught his interest. The Alpha chuckled and left the room, returning only a moment later with a plain, blue t-shirt. Keith tugged it on, trying to hide just how much he was preening at wearing the Alpha’s shirt. “Thanks. Did you need something?”

“Oh. Well.” Lance looked at him shyly. “I realize there was something else we should probably talk about but, uh, I didn’t really want to do it in front of everyone else?”

Keith raised an eyebrow, curious and nervous. “Yeah?”

Lance waved his hands around. “Right! Yeah! So… um…apparently we got super lucky that you didn’t get pregnant?” His face turned pink.

Keith flopped onto his bed and motioned for Lance to join him. He rolled his eyes when the Alpha tentatively sat at the edge of his bed, rather than half flopping on top of him like he would have the day before. “You can actually lay beside me, you know that, right?”

“I just don’t want to crowd you.”

“You didn’t care yesterday.”

Lance shifted a bit. “That story you told earlier…I just…I knew that something happened before but you never said what and I just…I—I want to respect your boundaries and—and I never want to hurt you or make you think I would. I know I can be an asshole sometimes so I just…yeah…” He waved his hands around.

Keith stared at him, not understanding at first. When he did though, something warm welled up inside of him. He shook his head and said, “Lance, did I look uncomfortable when I had sex with you?”

“No?” He looked incredibly perplexed by this.

“That’s because I’m not. Because you’re not a random stranger trying to take advantage of me.  I—it—it was terrifying and I—maybe I panicked because I just…shrugged it off. Buried it. But you…even at your worst I knew you weren’t a _bad_ person. Just kind of a jerk.” Lance pouted, but didn’t interrupt. “But Lance, I know you would _never_ hurt me like that.”

Tentatively, Keith reached his hand out towards Lance. The Alpha stared at it for a moment before intertwining their fingers and scooting close to him. Keith shifted so that their sides were pressed against one another, intertwined hands resting on their legs.

Lance’s thumb brushed over his hand and said, “Would it help if you got it out now?”

“What’s it say? It’s been a while now,” Keith said with a shrug. “I always knew that Omegas had to be careful, but I knew how to fight. I was sure that I’d be fine and I needed supplies. Being in the desert wasn’t exactly easy. I—I guess I was wrong.”  
  
“But you weren’t,” Lance reminded him. “You fended him off.”  
  
“People saved me.”  
  
“No, people made it so you didn’t have to get your hands covered in his blood.” Lance reached across their bodies and took Keith’s other hand into his too. “You would have beat him. You’re so, _so_ strong.”

“I’m not, not that way,” Keith said, unable to hide the shame. God, how could Lance think that when he was just a mess? “I—it was terrifying, and yeah it might have really messed someone up. Maybe there’s something wrong with me. I wouldn’t want to…downplay anyone else’s suffering when things like that happen to them and in the end nothing actually happened to me so I don’t really have the right for it to bother me so much, you know? I’m fine.”

Lance squeezed his hand. “You’re allowed to be bothered by it babe, but don’t be ashamed of how you feel about it, right? As long as you never felt like you _had_ to say that you were okay or something, you know? But you are allowed to be okay, and you’re allowed to _not_ be okay. It’s entirely up to you.”

“I don’t get it,” Keith admitted, but he was trying to.

The Alpha reached up and put a hand on Keith’s cheek. “You’re okay with that? With me being close? Touching you? It’s okay if you are. It’s okay if you’re not.”

“Oh.” He put his hand on top of Lance’s. “Yeah. I—I’m okay with this. You wouldn’t hurt me like that. I know that.”  
  
“I won’t hurt you at all, on purpose.” He looked like he didn’t like the add on. “I mean, we’ll probably fight and get mad at one another, but as long as we talk about it, it’ll be okay, right? My sister and her mate have—had a deal where they’d never go to sleep angry. Think we could try it?”

“We can try,” Keith replied almost shyly. “I…I can try not to run.” At Lance’s curious look, he looked down. “It’s…it’s easier to run from people than to let them in and hurt you.”  
  
“Sounds lonely to me, but if you try, I’ll try too. Partners, right?”

“Right.”

They were both silent, but it wasn’t awkward. He liked silence.

“Hey,” Lance spoke up. “I know you can take care of yourself, but I’m not going to let anyone else hurt you either. First of all, you can kick anyone’s ass and you know it. I don’t need to say it…even though I keep saying it…but that’s not the point! Secondly, your part of _our_ pack. You and Pidge are our Omegas, and we’re not going to let anything happen to the two of you, right? And I’m not going to let anyone hurt my Omega so there’s that. I’ll always protect you.”

“You can’t promise that,” Keith pointed out with a frown. “We’re in a war, Lance.”  
  
“And I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.”

“Not if it means your life,” he shot back, because the thought of Lance dying for _him_ wasn’t okay at all.  
  
“We’ll agree to disagree,” the Alpha replied. They weren’t going to get anywhere arguing about protecting one another. “There are other things I wanna talk about too.”

Keith breathed out and nodded his head. “Alright. Like what?” He wasn’t very good at his verbal communication thing, but he thought that he actually wasn’t doing that bad right now.

“Hunk said that I should be up front with you about everything. About what I want and see what you want too. Cause, like, you’re my boyfriend, right?”  
  
“Yes?” Keith felt a bit of concern now, but it eased away a bit when he saw Lance’s face practically light up.

“Right. So, I don’t want you to think that I’m just here for some fun and then to run. I know we talked about that before but I want to be clear that I—I would really like this to work out. And someday in the future, doesn’t have to be any time soon, but I think I’d like to…bond with you?”

Keith’s breath left him as emotions rushed through him. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, not really sure what was going on in his own mind until he blurted out, “But you’ll find someone better than me on Earth and regret it.”

Lance’s eyebrows shot up, recognizing the exact same argument that Keith presented when they slept together.

“I won’t,” Lance insisted. He wasn’t going to go get any big arguments about it. It was probably best to keep it straightforward and simple with Keith. “I want you.”

Keith didn’t know how to take that at all, because so few people in life had chosen him. He could count them on one hand. The concept that Lance wanted to be _with_ him was so strange. “I—“ He couldn’t say anything. He could barely breathe.

“Okay. Okay well Mamá said that when I find someone I feel that way about I should tell them everything so…I…well…it seems like you’re not exactly okay with kids?”  
  
Keith looked down. He knew he was going to have to explain this, and hoped that he could get it out. “I—I always resented the fact that everyone said I _had_ to have kids. That it was the only thing I was good for. And…I always just assumed that…well…the only way it would happen was if it was…forced.” He shrunk down a bit. “I never thought…”

“That anyone would want to be with you,” Lance finished for him. His arms went around Keith and he hugged him. “I don’t know who hurt you, but fuck all them. I do want to be with you that way, and I know you’re amazing and not just—just a uterus.”

Keith was silent as a thought came to him. He might regret it, but decided to roll with it. “And with you, maybe someday, I’d be okay with it.”

“Really?” Lance perked up a bit.

“Maybe,” Keith replied shyly.  

Lance smiled and nuzzled him. “If you change your mind, that’s okay. Just tell me. I want to know _everything_.”  
  
“Everything?” Keith repeated.

“I mean, yeah. You’re _my_ Omega, and I’m going to prove it someday in any way I can.” Lance leaned down so that their noises brushed one another.

Keith stared at him from under his lashes before saying, “One of those ways is going to have to wait until _someone_ gets protection.” Contraceptives, unfortunately, were not made for Omegas. Instead, they were for Alphas to basically stop the production of sperm in the first place. Doctors claimed it was because it was far easier to do and far less harmful than it would be to completely change an Omega’s cycle, but Keith knew it was just another show of power and control. It sucked. “If you didn’t figure it out, that’s how we got lucky. Shows that they _do_ work.”

Lance’s face flushed and his voice rose, though he didn’t move his face away. “So, uh, even after everything we talked about, even knowing there’s a bit of a risk, you still want to?”

Keith leaned forward kissed him lightly. “Protection first.” He looked thoughtful. “Though there are other ways of doing things like oral, anal, and other things like that.” As long as it wasn’t during heats, and handled properly, those things could be fun.

The Blue Paladin squawked loudly, his face burning. “Don’t want to risk it!”

What? “You—you do know you can’t get pregnant from either of those, right?” Keith was suddenly highly concerned about Lance’s education prior to the Garrison. “I mean, how would that even be practical? Stomach acid would destroy semen and even if it didn’t like…how would that work? Does it just burst out of your stomach or something? Is there another way to get to the uterus? But wouldn’t that get stomach acid in there too?”  
  
“Keith,” Lance whined, burying his face in his hands as his shoulders shook.

Oh, wait. He hadn’t been serious. That was good. Still, Lance seemed amused by this, so why stop there?

“And how the hell would getting pregnant from your _ass_ be a biological advantage? Would there be like…two holes inside? What the shit? What would be the point of that when you can just, you know, have a vagina? How would the baby come out? Would you get shit up the ass-vagina? How is the uterus attached? Holy shit, the _infections_ you’d get. What the shit?”

“Oh my god stop saying the word shit when talking about getting knocked up from anal!” Lance burst out with a loud laugh, the tension utterly destroyed. He nuzzled his face against Keith’s shoulder, nose brushing close to his scent gland as his body shook with chuckles. “You’re ridiculous.”

There was silence and then, “You’d shit out a baby.”

“Keith!” Lance shrieked, grabbing the pillow and smacking him with it. “Stop making fun of me! I know that can’t happen!”

Keith laughed and fended off the attack. Lance no longer smelled stressed, and he was no longer keeping his distance. Somewhere in their play struggling, Keith ended up on his back, Lance leaning over him.

Their breath slowed as they stared at one another, and Keith had to admit, it was actually really nice to have a firm understanding of where they were with one another. Where they wanted to go.

It was nice to get things that he was holding in off of his chest, talking to someone that he trusted in a way he couldn’t quite do with Shiro.

The space between them vanished as their lips met. Keith had never felt more safe or wanted before.

It meant the world to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I deleted my first note about ages, but I aged the characters up some for this:  
> Shiro - 27.  
> Keith & Allura - 20. (Well, Allura's the equivalent to 20 at least)  
> Hunk & Lance - 19.  
> Pidge - 17.  
> Coran - Timeless. 
> 
> Also please note that is was written prior to season 5, so the information on Lance's family in this is no longer accurate, but I really don't have it in me to go back and change it. Bless alternate universes!


	8. That Which Is Lost

Keith bit his lip as he watched Kolivan and Allura argue with one another about cancelling the mission. Though he didn’t agree with her sheer hostility towards Kolivan (their entire organization had remained hidden for thousands of years so that was pretty impressive), he _did_ agree that they could have actively fought back more. That if enough people tried to stop Zarkon from the beginning, this wouldn’t be a problem.

His eyes looked towards Lance, who was staring at the arguing Galra and Altean. If they turned and ran, it would be even longer before they could go home, and he _knew_ how much Lance missed his family.

“Sorry,” Keith muttered quietly, knowing the Alpha was too far away to hear. He stood up and approached the others. “I’ll do it.”

“Uhh…” Lance said, his voice sounding rather distressed, but Keith ignored him.

“I’m part Galra, so their interface will work for me. We don’t know where Thace is, so I’ll go.” He looked across the room. “Pidge, think you can rig up a pod with cloaking?”

Before she could get a sound out, Kolivan took a step towards him. “Absolutely not. I would _never_ send someone such as yourself on such a dangerous mission.”

“Someone such as myself?” Keith repeated, a bitterness filling his entire body.

“Someone so inexperienced.”

He snorted. “You mean someone who’s an Omega? A Bearer? Right?” He shook his head when Kolivan didn’t answer. Was _this_ why his mother had seemingly abandoned the Blade for a while too? Or maybe a grandparent? “No one’s commanding me. I’m doing it.”

“Uhh…” Lance said again.

“Uhh…” Hunk hummed at the same time.

“Pidge, get that pod ready,” Shiro spoke up over the comms, and Keith felt his heart leap. Hunk may have been the Pack Leader, but Shiro was the Team Leader. This time, the team outweighed the pack. “Keith, let me know when you’re on your way. I’ll give you cover.”

“Got it,” Keith said, nodding his head towards Pidge, who quickly scrambled after him.

“What just happened?” he heard Lance ask Hunk, his voice sounding rather high-pitched.

“I have no idea.” If Hunk said anything else, Keith didn’t hear it, since the door closed behind him.

Pidge was silent as they made their way towards the general hanger. It was strange, since the last time he was there, he had been running away with Allura.

That was before the dynamics of the group had changed so much. That was before Lance had managed to really worm his way into his heart.

He crossed his arms and watched as Pidge set to work installing one of the cloaking devices to one of the pods. She checked it over two, three times when she was done. “There. Cloaking device is ready to go.” She looked up at him. “I don’t like this, Keith. At all.”

“It’s the only play we’ve got right now,” Keith insisted. He was glad that she couldn’t smell him through his armour, because he was a bit nervous. That was fine though, because he knew that he could do this. One thing that Keith never doubted was his skills and abilities.

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I won’t worry.” Without warning, Pidge threw her arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. Keith patted her back awkwardly. “I already have one missing brother, so don’t you dare make that number turn into two.”

Keith didn’t know how to respond to that at all. His arms shook as he let go of her, though Pidge continued to squeeze him.

It was almost a relief to hear Allura’s voice cut through the air. “Pidge, may I have a moment with Keith, please?”

They both looked around at the Princess. Pidge glanced between the two of them and frowned. “Sure, I guess.” She knocked her fist against Keith’s arm before walking towards the large doors that would take her back towards the command deck.

Allura took a step towards Keith and looked at the floor, seemingly unsure of where to start. It was at that moment that Keith was reminded that she was technically probably around the same age as him. Or the Altean equivalent of that age since they had ridiculously long life spans. Allura always seemed larger than life, and to see her so uncomfortable made him uncomfortable, despite the fact that she had been reaching out to him lately. “Is there something I can help you with?”

She took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say…” She trailed off and seemed to struggle for a moment. “The Galra have done…terrible things. Destroyed entire civilizations. They took my friends. They took my family.” Keith grimaced at that and looked at the floor. “But, in time, you and the other Paladins have become my family too. So when I learned you were Galra, I didn’t know what to think.” She choked out a bitter laugh. “I wanted to hate you.”  
  
Keith looked up at her again, feeling something inside of him squeeze painfully. “Allura, it’s—”

“If you’re about to tell me it’s okay, you’re wrong!” She snapped, blue eyes blazing with sudden intensity. “It’s not you.” Her voice softened dramatically. “It’s me. My anger blinded me for so long. I—my family trusted the Galra before. Zarkon was the Black Paladin. My father was the Red Paladin.”  
  
And Keith was a half-Galra flying his lion. “Allura, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” She shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. “I’m not at all. Voltron needs you. I always knew that. I’m sorry.”  
  
Keith almost yelped as Allura suddenly threw herself at him in a lose hug, her head resting by his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her even more awkwardly than they had Pidge. “I’m so sorry. I tried to show it, but I’m not sure if I succeeded, and I needed you to know before you left.” She sniffled. “You prove every day that it’s not what’s in your blood, but what’s in your heart that counts.” Her hands squeezed his armour tightly, even though he couldn’t feel it. “Make sure you come back to us.”

“I will,” Keith said, fighting to keep his emotions down. “Allura? I know we all have a role to play but can you…watch over Lance? He’s strong but…”

She laughed and took a step back. “He’s just as impulsive and reckless as you. He would have made a fine Red Paladin too. I’ll do what I can – perhaps talk to Hunk about it since he’ll be with him. Pidge as well.”

“That’s all I ask,” Keith said with a nod. “He’s right behind that door, isn’t he?”  
  
“He thought he was subtle when he followed me,” Allura replied with a wavering smile. She put a hand on his shoulder. “After this I’ll help you translate more Galran texts. I’m fairly fluent.”

“Thank you,” Keith said, nodded his head at her.

She smiled again and turned to walk away. Keith watched her, feeling something warm flood through his already twisting stomach.

She stopped at the open door and spoke quietly to someone waiting outside, and then Lance came into the room. It seemed to take forever for him to reach Keith, yet the Red Paladin didn’t move towards him. Lance stopped a few feet away and they just stared at one another.

“What do you want for supper later?”

Keith blinked at him. “What?”

“Well…” Lance crossed his arms in front of him as if hugging himself. “I was thinking, we can probably get actual food and not just goo. Well, maybe after we all have an epic nap. I demand cuddles for that, by the way. Hunk said earlier that he’d make a whole feast if we all survived this so we need to pick something good. Victory dinner. Right?”

Was he for real? Keith stared at him, completely perplexed, while Lance stared back almost desperately. He had no idea what was going on, but decided that it was probably best to just play along. That was usually his best bet in these kind of situations.

“Nothing spicy this time,” he replied, and Lance looked almost offended. “If you think one nap is going to be enough after this, you’re wrong. The last time Hunk made something spicy, you kept waking up with weird dreams.”

“Point,” Lance agreed. “Though that’s only because it’s space-spice. Earth spice has nothing on me. Spicy food tomorrow instead it is! We’ll make it so hot it’ll burn for the rest of the day. Watching Pidge eat it will be hilarious, not that you and Shiro are much better.” He uncrossed his arms and reached out, tugging Keith close and wrapping his arms around him. “So that’s the plan, right? Come back, cuddle, eat food, sleep more, then have spicy food. That means you can’t end up in a pod, alright?”

“As long as you keep that in mind too,” Keith replied, wrapping his arms around Lance’s waist and resting his forehead on his shoulder, despite the fact that they were both wearing their armour.

Lance snorted. “You have no idea what I’m saying, do you?”

“No,” Keith admitted sheepishly.

Lance squeezed him tighter, gently pushing Keith away so that they were face-to-face instead. “I’m telling you don’t get hurt and I’ll see you back here later.” He gentle knocked his helmet against Keith’s. “We’re not saying goodbye or anything like that, got it?

“Oh.” Well, that actually made sense. A warm weight settled in Keith’s chest. “Well, I’ll see you back here later, and don’t get hurt.”

Lance laughed at him weakly, pecking his lips. “You’re a master of words, but it’s a deal.”

Keith nodded and rested his head on Lance’s shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment. Whatever happened next, he wanted to hold onto this memory for as long as he could.

…

When Lance was younger, his mother had gone out for a while. He hadn’t thought much of it, all he knew was that the man wasn’t home to play with him. He remembered seeking out his father, the worried woman pacing nervously around the kitchen.

When he asked, she had said, “Mamá’s running a pretty late and I’m worried.”

Lance hadn’t understood why that was a reason to be so worried. Later on in life he had understood in theory, but it was only now, flying Blue through waves of Galra fighters, that he truly understood what his father had been feeling.

He kept telling himself that Keith was strong. His mother had been fine back then, and though the situation was different, Keith was even better at taking care of himself. He was good at what he did. He’d be fine.

Repeating that over and over in his head didn’t help his nerves. It also didn’t help that he was being shot at.

He grimaced as he flew through and explosion and took down another ship. “It’s getting hairy out here! How you doing, Keith?” He mentally begged the Omega to say something, since he had been radio silent for a while now.

A breath of relief rushed through him when Keith’s voice rang through the comms. “The Galra switched the codes. We’re trying a work-around.” He sounded calm and collected, not at all breathless. That was good. It meant that he probably wasn’t injured or fighting right now.

He latched onto the words, brow furrowing with confusion. “We? Who’s we?” He tried to keep the edge from his voice, but he couldn’t help but remember what Galra Givers did to Bearers, which Keith was. They claimed them as their own, with or without permission, and technically he and Keith weren’t mates, even if they made it clear that they’d like to be some day.  
  
“I found Thace,” Keith said. “Explain later.”  
  
Oh. Well, that wasn’t so bad then. Actually, now that he thought about it, it was ridiculous to worry about Keith like that. No one could smell him, and Keith wasn’t about to just let someone waltz up to him and claim him. He’d probably stab them.

That left Lance with some comfort, but the radio silence that followed put him back on edge.

He was doing everything that he could to take down the Galra around him, and not that he was bragging, but he knew that he had taken out more fighters than Hunk or Pidge had.

God, Lance wanted to be somewhere else right now. He wanted to go home, though he’d settle on the observation deck of the castle in a pretty system, curled up with Keith. Yeah, that sounded nice. Though now he was also picturing himself curled up on the beach, the rest of his family around him, and that was even better.

He jerked out of his thoughts, horror rushing through him as the teleduv appeared in front of them, and Zarkon’s ship started charging its cannon. They were out of time.

Without warning, a part of Zarkon’s ship exploded, and Lance’s heart leapt to his throat. He heard Hunk gasp and Pidge scream. Moments later, all of the lights on Zarkon’s ship turned off. He could hear Shiro talking to the Blade about their plan working, but Lance’s attention was pulled to the streak of red zooming by.

His breath hitched as he watched Red move in close to the ship and seemed to hover there for a moment, before turning and heading towards them.

“What’s going on?” Hunk called out across the comms, more than a bit confused.

“Thace blew it up,” Keith said as Red joined the rest of them.

“Are you okay?” Lance blurted out before he could stop himself. A moment later, a screen popped up in front of him, showing Keith surrounded by red light.

“I’m fine,” he assured him, though he looked more than a bit disturbed about something. It occurred to Lance that Thace wasn’t with him, and that didn’t settle with him very well when he realized what it probably meant.

“Great. I think I lost 10 years off my life. Thanks,” he replied to him.

Hunk burst into almost hysterical laughter, reminding Lance that they were still on open comms, even though everyone else’s video feeds were off.

Pidge chuckled a bit too and then said, “We’re really going to do it.”

“It’s not over yet,” Shiro said as they flew towards the wormhole after Zarkon’s ship and the Castle of Lions. “Let’s do this together as a team!”

They all cried out in agreement, and Lance couldn’t help but feel confident.

Nothing could go wrong now.

…

Coran’s shoulders tensed as he stared at the empty pilot’s chair in the Black Lion, the bayard still in the console.

It didn’t make sense. He had _never_ heard of something like this happening before. They had dealt such a major blow to the Galra Empire, yet, somehow, their Black Paladin was just gone? Maybe he could understand if Shiro vanished on another planet, or even his room in the castle, but his lion?

That just didn’t happen.

He looked over when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Keith turned to storm out of the lion, and Lance was quick to hurry after him.

“What happened to him?” Pidge whispered, touching the chair with a shaking hand, like she’d disappear too if she wasn’t careful. Shiro had been her only tangible connection to Matt, proof that he had survived, and now he was gone.  
  
“Did Black eject him?” Hunk asked, eyes wide with worry. “Did we leave him floating in space somewhere?”  
  
“No,” Coran assured him. He had scanned around the castle, just in case there were allies or enemies floating around. It happened from time to time so he made sure to do it after every battle. “I checked myself.”

“The Black Lion,” Allura muttered, hugging herself closely. “It has the ability to warp the space around it, or so my father said. It only happens when a powerful bond is created between the lion and the Paladin. It’s essentially teleportation. That may be what happened.”  
  
“So it teleported Shiro somewhere else?” Pidge asked, looking towards them and raising an eyebrow. “Where? Why?”

“This has never happened before. Perhaps there was something else happening at that moment, and Black tried to protect Shiro the only way they knew how,” Allura answered with a shake of her head. “I don’t know for sure.” Her entire body shook as she rapidly blinked back tears. “I’m so sorry.”

Coran reached out and took the black bayard out of the console. It felt oddly heavy in his hand, heavy and wrong like he wasn’t supposed to have it. He then reached out and wrapped his other arm around Allura’s shaking shoulders. “It’s been a long day. We all need rest.”

“But Shiro—“

“Isn’t anywhere we could get to overnight,” Coran assured Hunk. “If he was, we’d be able to pick him up on the scanners.”

The two Paladins were reluctant, but eventually followed him out as he led Allura with a hand on her back. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he watched as Lance drew Keith into a hug. He couldn’t see either of their faces to gauge their moods, but that was fine. At least he knew they were both still in the castle, not flying around trying to find Shiro without any direction.

They had already lost Shiro, they didn’t need to lose one of the other Paladins.

Coran knew what was coming next, and he knew that Keith wouldn’t like it. Though Shiro hadn’t really needed a figurative right-hand, the Red Paladin held a special place in relation to the Black Paladin.

After all, when the leader was unavailable, it was up to the second in command to step in.

…

Pidge pressed her fingers against her eyes, glasses tossed to the side. Her eyes burned from staring at a bright screen in a dark room for so long, but she couldn’t help it. She needed to siphon through the new data that they had collected, searching not just for her brother and father now, but Shiro as well.

The odds of Shiro being with the Galra Empire was slim, since they doubted that Black would have sent him to them. It was the only thing she could check out at the moment though.

Something soft bumped into her cheek, startling her. Pidge blinked as one of her space caterpillars bumped into her. She had four of them that she smuggled back into her room, and at first Allura protested it, but apparently they liked to organize things in their own way (it always looked messy but they liked it and Pidge was satisfied with her room), and they didn’t seem to actually eat, using their tiny mouths to move things around. She had named them Sagan, Curie, Tesla, and Kepler.

She reached up and pet Sagan’s soft, blue fur. “I know. I know I should sleep. I just…can’t.” She blinked rapidly. “We need to find Shiro.” What she was doing probably wasn’t helping at all, and that was frustrating to the point of near tears. She hated that everyone kept leaving.

There was a knock on her door, startling Pidge a bit. “Yeah?” She grimaced at the light from the hallway that surrounded Hunk’s large form. “What’s up?”

Hunk shifted into her room and sat down on the floor. He had some kind of object in his hand that he set aside for a moment as he pet Kepler. “So I was thinking, we have tech that can track our suits, but if the suits are ruined or removed, they’re almost useless. So I got to thinking, what if we could track someone’s unique biological signature?”

Pidge blinked and looked up at him. “Keep talking.”

“Well, all of the aliens we’ve come across so far have been carbon-based lifeforms…unless there are some on other planets and we just don’t recognize them. Not the point. We’re able to detect carbon-based lifeforms from the ship. What if we could alter that to search for a specific genetic sequence?”

“You mean like using someone’s DNA as a tracker,” Pidge clarified, pushing her laptop aside. She stared at the machine in front of her with interest. “Do you have a working prototype?”

“Not yet. It’s just a theory and I’ve only started sketching some prototypes.” He looked almost guilty. “It’ll probably take a while to get it finished. It’d have to be powerful, but specific. I was wondering if you wanted to help me out? Especially with the programming.”

“Absolutely!” She said happily and moved forward to help, but Hunk suddenly put a hand on her shoulder. “What?”

He eyed her before saying, “You need to sleep before we get to work. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“Hunk,” she whined in protest.  
  
“Pidge,” he replied sternly. “You know I’m right. Sleep now, and we’ll work on this in the morning.”

“Ugh, fine,” she muttered angrily. Why would he bother coming to show her this when he was just going to – oh. “Oh you sneaky motherfucker.”

Hunk snickered at her. “We should start a swear jar to show Shiro when we find him.”

“He’ll have a heart attack,” she noted. “But you’re showing me this as a motivator to get to sleep so you’ll let me help, aren’t you?”  
  
He shot her an innocent grin. “You think I’m that devious, Pidge?”

“Absolutely. It’s always the nice ones.”

Hunk laughed and took his device, standing up. “Get some sleep, Pidge. I’m hitting the hay too.”  
  
“Fine.” Pidge sighed as he left, leaving her once again in darkness and silence. She looked at her caterpillars. “That jerk.” She climbed up into her bed, kicking off a stray sock. Her pets themselves up underneath her bed.

They had a bit of a plan, and that was definitely more than they had before.

…

“Hey Allura.” The Altean Princess looked up as Lance approached her, hands in his pockets and shoulders slumped forward, like he was trying to make himself smaller.

“Lance,” she replied, keeping her voice soft. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” he said. “I just…I guess I feel a little useless right now, you know? Hunk and Pidge are doing all their science-y stuff to help find Shiro, and Keith is always either training or out looking for him, like we’re going to find him floating in a random ship in space or something.” He was clearly trying to keep his voice level.

“Well, you’ve certainly been doing a good job of…corralling Keith,” Allura assured him. “He probably would have collapsed by now if it wasn’t for you.”

“Yeah, but I feel like I can be doing _more_ for the team, not just him, you know?” If possible, it looked like he was trying to shrink down on himself. “I just want to be useful.”

Allura’s expression softened. “Sometimes being a stable figure for everyone is just as important as anything else. Shiro would tell me that sometimes.”

Lance hummed slightly, and finally looked at her properly. “Have you had any time to rest?”

“I’m quite alright. Alteans…well I suppose we technically rest longer than humans when we do sleep, but it’s less frequent,” she explained. “However, I had an adequate amount of sleep and sustenance.” She sighed and looked at the maps before her. “I suppose that losing a…friend can be extra tiring though.”

Lance eyed her, and Allura felt as if he was reading right through her. It was still certainly an improvement to the Lance that had flirted with her horrible. That was something that had lessened when his attraction to Keith became more obvious, and had completely disappeared (outside of the occasional, harmless teasing and compliments) once things became serious between them. She quite liked this Lance that could just be her friend.

He suddenly smiled, raising a single eyebrow. “You had a crush on Shiro didn’t you?”  
  
“I—why would I _crush_ him?” Allura was horrified at his sudden accusation. Had she really portrayed herself in such a way that he’d assume she’s want to _harm_ Shiro?

“No, no,” Lance’s eyes dancing with amusement. “I meant you _liked_ him.”  
  
“Of course I did, he was my friend.” Allura frowned. “I’m not quite sure what that has to do with crushing though.”

He burst into laughter. It was a wonderful sound that she found herself missing lately. Not just Lance’s laughter in particular, but joy from all of the Paladins. “Allura. No. Having a crush on someone means that you like them as more than a friend – that you’re attracted to them, but it’s not super serious yet. I started off by having a crush on Keith.”  
  
“Human terminology is so odd,” Allura noted, but then let his words sink in. She felt her skin warming, and knew that she had to be blushing dark magenta hues. “Well…of course Shiro would have been seen as a highly aesthetically pleasing Altean to look at – minus those hideous ears, of course.” She cleared her throat.

“The ears again,” Lance sighed before nodding his head. “But I get ya. Even before I realized I was bi I knew that he was a beefcake.”

“A…beefcake?” she repeated slowly.

“It’s a compliment. Call him that when we find him.”

Allura shook her head and looked back towards the hovering objects in front of her. “Yes, well, on a different note, how is Keith handling things?” Perhaps she had found Shiro attractive, but that didn’t matter in the long run. He was simply her friend, and she dearly missed him.

Lance snorted, catching on to her attempt at a subject change. “He’s being a lil’ bitch.”  
  
“Lance!” She knew for a fact that it was an inappropriate thing to say.

“What? He’s cranky and moody. I mean, I get why, I really do, but he needs to chill.” Lance huffed and pouted. “Okay, I shouldn’t be so mean. He’s frustrated and I’m frustrated, and I think we all just need a little bit of down time. Doesn’t even have to be _much_ time, just enough for everyone to calm down and breathe.”  
  
“That might not be a bad idea,” Allura conceded. “We don’t know _where_ we’re needed right now. Everything is quite broad at the moment. I’ve been trying to coordinate with our allies to create one greater army – though without the word army that sounds too bad…”

“Like a coalition?” he interrupted.  
  
“Yes!” She clapped her hands together excitedly. “Yes that is exactly it! The Voltron Coalition! Thank you, Lance! To my point though, that is something I can do from a stationary position. Perhaps we could find a place where everyone can take a break.”  
  
“Oh!” Lance perked up suddenly. “Space Mall! It’s pretty central, right? And it’s surrounded by a lot of allied planets now, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s a great idea,” she agreed. It felt a little wrong to be planning a ‘vacation’ when Shiro had just vanished, but it was something that they all desperately _needed_.  Some time to collect themselves, to rest and rejuvenate before tackling the universe again. Allura eyed him thoughtfully. “For now though, would you like to help me with these maps? You have an eye for detail.”  
  
“Of course!” Lance perked up and looked at everything in front of them. He frowned suddenly, brow furrowing. “Allura, what happens when everyone else realizes that we don’t have a Black Paladin anymore?”

“…Hopefully we will locate Shiro prior to that. If not…if things go bad and we need Voltron…” She trailed off, not wanting to put the words out there.  
  
“We may have to find another Black Paladin,” Lance finished for her.

She looked at him uncomfortable, shoulders slumping a bit. It was the last thing that she wanted, but it wouldn’t be the first time Voltron had to move on from a past Paladin. “Yes.”

…

Sweat dripped down Keith’s face as he glared at the Gladiator before him, slashing at it viciously before somersaulting backwards to avoid being hit. He had lost track of how long he had been on the training deck, but he took the absence of most of the others to his advantage to just _not_ stop.

He fought with a burning rage, knowing that he had to get it out somewhere and this (or Galra fighters) were the best ways to do it. None of his friends deserved his anger. None of the newly formed Voltron coalition deserved it either.

A part of Keith wanted to just curl up into a ball of misery and sob. He _couldn’t_ do that though. It wouldn’t help Shiro.

Keith’s pulse jumped. Shiro, his brother, had been gone for weeks now. It didn’t feel like it had been that long, but at the same time, it felt like the days had stretched on forever, like he had never been there.

He wasn’t the only one hurting, Keith _knew_ that, but he selfishly believed that he was the only one who truly cared about Shiro, who was doing his best to get him back. That was a filthy lie. Everyone worked hard, and they were right that not only did the universe still needed Voltron, but the Paladins themselves needed a break.

He stumbled, grimacing when the Gladiator’s staff hit his arm and threw him to the side. He groaned, but managed to quickly push himself up, slashing at the robot’s legs with his Marmora blade. It crumbled to the floor, and he stabbed it in the head, finishing the level.

Instead of activating the next one, Keith flopped back onto the floor, chest heaving as he stared at the ceiling. This was all so messed up.

He had lost track of how long they had been in space at this point. It was kind of sad that the best way to figure things out in regards to earth time was how many heats he had (or was supposed to have). Then again, Pidge had something that was keeping track, but he wasn’t really interested.

His mind rushed back to Shiro’s mother crying at the memorial made for the Kerberos mission. The poor woman had no idea that her son was alive. Maybe it was for the best, since he was gone again and no one knew where he was or if they’d find him again. Maybe he _wasn’t_ alive anymore.

Keith refused to stop looking for Shiro, but at the same time, he was so sick of the pain that hit his heart every time he thought about him. The others were right, they needed a break. They had just defeated Zarkon, after all.

The other Paladins missed Earth a lot, and with such a big victory, it should have made them all feel like they were a step closer to going home. Yet, somehow it felt like they were farther away than ever. They weren’t going home any time soon.

On a personal level, the answers that _he_ was looking for were out in space somewhere. He also knew that the Galra Empire had too strong of a hold on the universe for Voltron to just vanish after Zarkon was gone. No, odds are, they’d probably spend the rest of their lives cleaning up this mess. It wasn’t actually a bad job, but he knew that the others would want to go home too. Maybe they’d be able to stop at Earth from time to time, set up communications with family members. Surly that wouldn’t be too bad?

It was confusing. Keith knew his answers were amongst the stars, as was Pidge’s family, but Hunk and Lance so desperately wanted to be home. A small part of Keith wondered if they would stay home if they went on a break or a vacation, and just stop being Paladins.

He didn’t want to lose the people that had become his pack, his family. Almost losing Allura after finding out he was part Galra had been unbearable. Yet the others had come to his defense too, and that had made different feelings rush through him.

_“You know, we’ve both seen people treat our parents that way because of who they are. In certain places, people treated us that way too because of what we look like! It’s not okay and maybe Keith doesn’t want to start trouble over it, but we will!”_ It was Lance that was doing the talking, but Hunk had been at his side, stern and assertive while arguing with Shiro. Not that Shiro disagreed with them, but he also didn’t want to alienate Allura, so he stayed more neutral.

Keith had to hide in his room for an hour to stop the blush on his face.

It was essentially true, but ignoring racist comments or attitudes was how Keith dealt with them. It surprised others that he didn’t resort to violence quickly, but he wasn’t actually a violent person. Just because he knew how to fight and kick ass didn’t mean that he would instantly jump to punching someone. No, he tended to ignore and retreat before that. It’s exactly how he handled people implying that he was at the top of the class because he was ‘Asian’. The only exceptions were when he had put salt in his foster brother’s coffee, and that one time he had ended up telling someone off in Japanese.

He had come so close to losing Allura for good at that point, and it had felt like something was ripping him apart from the inside. He wasn’t nearly as close to her as he was the others, so he couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to lose them. Sometimes he thought that he was getting too close to everyone, and that he should back off before everything blew up in his face.

The fact that losing Shiro again felt like he was being stabbed only proved him right.

“Holy shit! Are you okay?”  
  
Keith jumped and blinked with surprise as Lance suddenly appeared at his side, blue eyes wide with alarm as he looked him over. Keith frowned and tried to push himself up, only for his arm to seize in pain. He yelped and almost fell backwards, but Lance put his hand on his back and helped him into a sitting position.

It was only now that he noticed the nasty gash on his arm from when the Gladiator hit him. His eyes trailed down to the floor, stained with blood. With him lying on the floor, it must have looked really bad.

Was he actually that lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed his arm getting cut open? That was a new level a bad even for him.

“Come on,” Lance urged, keeping his voice soft. “Let’s get you to the med bay.” He helped him off of the floor and used his jacket to put pressure on the cut. Keith whimpered a bit, a distinctly Omega noise that seemed to rile up Lance’s protective instincts.

“I’m not going in a pod for a little cut,” Keith argued, but he didn’t put up a fight as Lance guided him into the hall. “I’m staining your jacket.”

“I don’t care about that!” Lance rolled his eyes. “Idiot.”

They walked in silence to the med bay, fortunately fairly close to the training deck for obvious reasons.

Lance forced Keith to sit down while he rummaged around for bandages to wrap his arm. Keith could admit that he was normally a horrible patient, but he stayed silent and let Lance work. He was close enough to catch the bitter twist of worry and annoyance that tainted Lance’s sent. It made him shrink in on himself.

“Sorry,” Keith mumbled. Damn this Alpha for always making him feeling things.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, it was an accident,” Lance replied with a sigh as he sprayed something on Keith’s arm. The Omega grimaced a bit at the slight sting, but it vanished quickly enough. He watched as Lance wiped it off, and then he started putting one of those special Altean wraps that healed minor wounds around it. It was way better than stitches, but took a lot longer.

They were silent until Lance was positive that his injury was taken care of. He nodded his head and then looked at Keith, clearly exasperated. “I knew you should have come to the Space Mall with us.”  
  
“Last time we almost got arrested,” Keith pointed out. He hadn’t wanted to go into a place with large crowds. It probably would have set him off, since so much seemed to these days. He was always so tense, but no one really blamed him.  
  
“Nothing like that happened this time!” His eyes went wide with excitement. “Actually, I got you something!”

“You…got me something?” Keith repeated slowly. He had been nothing but a jerk to Lance lately, so he definitely didn’t deserve a gift.

“Of course I did.” He grabbed his hand. “Come on! Come on!”

Keith couldn’t help but chuckle at his excitement, once again allowing himself to be pulled around. Normally this would have annoyed him, but seeing Lance so happy made him feel happy.

Was he even _allowed_ to feel happy when Shiro was missing and who knows where? It didn’t feel like it, but he couldn’t help it.  
  
Lance practically flounced into Keith’s room, letting go of his hand and then holding his arms out wide. “Voila!”

It took Keith a moment to realize what he was referring to, but then wondered how he could miss it. There was new blanket hastily thrown on his bed. It was a simple blue colour, but he liked it well enough. He approached it, running his fingers across it. Almost immediately, he _preened_ at how soft it was.

He was the typical Omega in the sense that he absolutely loved soft things, and this blanket was even more amazing than the ones Allura had lent him during his heat. Wow, that felt like forever ago too.  
  
“Lance…”

“Oh man, I knew I should have got the red one!” Lance cried out, throwing his hands in the air. “Um, maybe there’s enough time to run back and switch them!”

“No!” It was almost childish, but Keith jumped on top of his bed and glared at Lance. He was _not_ taking back this blanket. Keith would literally fight him.

The Alpha’s distress instantly turned into amusement. He laughed and followed him onto the bed and leaning over him with his arms on either side of him. “So you like it?”

“I love it,” Keith hissed defensively. “You’re not fucking taking it back. I’ll fight you. It’s _mine_.”

Lance laughed again, pressing his forehead against his. “You’re adorable.” He leaned down and kissed him.

Keith hummed happily, moving his arms around him. He tilted his head and parted his lips, drawing Lance even closer. Lance responded eagerly, his hands running down Keith’s sides as he allowed his weight to rest on him.

Lance broke away, lips trailing down his neck. The Omega in him was so happy, and was already screaming at him to get the Alpha above him to claim him. It wouldn’t be hard. Just lean forward and sink his teeth into his scent gland enough to leave a mark, and then he could do the same.

The thought instantly sent a spike of anxiety through him quickly. Lance tensed up and pulled away, staring at him with worried eyes. “Did I hurt your arm?”  
  
“Huh? No. Sorry.” Keith shook his head, smiling at him encouragingly. “Thoughts go to weird places sometimes.”

“Hmm, not sure how I feel about that you having anxious thoughts while just starting to make out with me.” Lance rolled off of him and pouted up at the ceiling.

Keith wanted to curl up into himself. Why did he always screw things up? “Sorry.”

“Hey, hey, no.” Lance rolled over again, placing a hand on Keith’s cheek. “I—I’m worried about you, you know? I know it’s been hard with Shiro gone, but you’ve been pushing yourself so hard and I’m just worried that…” Lance trailed off and seemed to struggle for words. “You _are_ allowed to feel happy, you know?”

It was like Lance read his mind. “I feel bad about it, because who knows what’s happening to him and I—and I’m here and safe with you, and you make me really happy and I just…I’m sorry about how I’ve been treating you lately. You don’t deserve it.”

Lance flushed a bit at that. “It’s okay…well no, being a jerk isn’t okay, but I forgive you for it and I understand. Just think though, when he does come back, what would he be more likely to use his disappointed voice over? You taking moments to be happy, or you pushing yourself too much?”

Keith could _hear_ Shiro lecturing him already. He scooted closer to Lance, careful not to hurt his arm. “I know.” He sighed. “What would I do without you?”

“You’d probably be fine,” Lance replied, his voice choking up a bit.

With narrowed eyes, Keith looked up at Lance. He could see that insecure part of him shining through. He really had been selfish these last couple weeks, hadn’t he? He was so focused on finding Shiro, that he had started leaving everyone else behind. He had reverted to insults and anger before anything else, even if he didn’t mean it.

That wasn’t fair, and it was probably taking some kind of toll on the others.

He pressed forward and said, “No. I think—I think even if we weren’t like we are now, you’d still be the only thing keeping me together. You’re just…you’re so important to the team, you know? The jack-of-all-trades that keeps us together by filling in the holes that would tear us apart otherwise, and also being your own important piece of the puzzle too.” His face suddenly turned red when he met Lance’s wide eyes. Keith burned himself into Lance’s jacket so he couldn’t see him. “Sorry. I sucked at English and metaphors in school.” He was good at research, but creative writing? No. That was not Keith’s thing at all.

Lance laughed, almost breathlessly. “No, you said everything right.” He ran his fingers through Keith’s hair and gently urged him to look up again. The smile on Lance’s face left him breathless. “Thank you.”

The moment was broken when Lance suddenly sat up. “Shit! Sorry! I’m getting blood on your shirt!” Keith blinked with confusion, watching as Lance threw his blood-stained coat (which had, in turn, started staining Keith’s black shirt and that was _clearly_ a huge problem). Whatever. If Lance wanted to be dramatic, he could be dramatic without judgement. Keith owed him that.

Lance quickly tossed his coat to the floor, something clunking from his packet. “Oh! I need that!” He all but lunged after the coat, landing in a graceless heap.

“What the fuck?” Keith breathed out as he sat up and stared at his boyfriend. “Did you eat those pink berries again? Hunk told you not to! They instantly get you high!” Why did they even still have those berries anyway? What was Hunk doing with them?  
  
Whatever. If the Yellow Paladin wanted to eat a harmless berry to take the edge off every once and a while, who was Keith to judge? He had shit coping techniques (meaning he did not cope with things and ignored them until they festered into an explosion of rage).

Lance looked around at him, his hair sticking up wildly. “Nope. No berries!” God, Keith adored this ridiculous Alpha.

“Look!” Lance presented him with a large rectangular box that housed a few smaller boxes inside of it.

Keith sat up as he took the box, turning it around in his hand. His eyebrows raised when he recognized that it was some kind of medication, and everything was written in English and Spanish.

“Found it at the Earth store,” Lance explained. His cheeks were pink, and he patiently waited for Keith to finish studying it.

Suddenly, it hit Keith what they were, and his mouth went dry. “How the _hell_ did you find preventatives? Are these even okay for you to take?” He started looking around for a best before date.

“Keith, my man, they’re fine. I doubled checked and so did Hunk,” Lance assured him. “We gave a box to Coran to see if he could replicate or synthesize even more of them if we need them.”

“That’s…smart,” Keith admitted. He looked up as Lance climbed off of the floor, sitting beside him again. He watched Lance’s face flush even more, suddenly unable to look him in the eye. “What?”

“I mean, I get it’s a bit…weird? Yeah, we’ll go with weird. Shiro’s gone and he’s basically your brother, and he’s important to all of us, and here I am finding and buying protection. But I figured, you know, there was probably _never_ going to be an appropriate time to show you.”

“Lance,” Keith said. “I don’t think it’s weird.” He couldn’t really see why anyone else would think it was weird either. Wasn’t everyone saying that Keith needed to calm down before he yelled at any more coalition leaders? The excess endorphins that hit Omegas even off of their heats would definitely help with that.

“It is weird,” Lance insisted with a bark of a laugh. “I actually went into the store _looking_ for those. Finding out that you could get your boyfriend pregnant at any time, and not just once every three months, is a pretty good motivator when you both want it.” Lance suddenly looked at him. “I know a lot happened since we agreed to it, and it might have changed your mind about wanting to be with me like that, and that’s one hundred percent okay. I’m still going to take them though, just in case you ever change your mind.”  
  
Keith’s heart pounded in his chest. This Alpha was unreal. First he gives him an amazingly comfortable blanket (it wasn’t even heating up under them, staying nice and cool), then he reveals that he found protection, and then he double-checks to make sure it was okay since so much had changed since Keith had said he was open to it.

Still, he decided to honour Lance’s question and think about if he really _was_ okay with it now. Things were so messed up, but what he had with Lance? That wasn’t. That was constant and consistent, something Keith highly appreciated.

He was angry. He was scared. He was lost. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore. Being around Lance though, that was different. It was like all his problems melted away. He had never felt like this before.

“I love you,” Keith blurted out, and then immediately panicked because not only had he said that so impulsively, but he realized that it was absolutely true. There was no doubt in Keith at all about it. He had always had a pretty good grasp on _what_ he was feeling, he just wasn’t able to express it.

Lance’s mouth opened and closed for a moment before he suddenly closed the distance between them and hugged Keith close. “I love you too.” He laughed, and it was almost a watery sound like he was trying not to cry. “Wow, um, so yeah, that happened. I mean, it didn’t answer my question, but it’s even better, ya know?”

Keith’s terror and panic passed, replaced with a squirming excitement. It kind of felt like his body was warming up like it did when he was in heat, but this was different too. This was so much better.

He snorted loudly, still hiding his burning face in Lance’s shoulder. “Ridiculous Alpha. Of course I still want you that way.” It didn’t matter what else was happening, that part still remained true. Almost as an afterthought, he added, “When the meds kick in.” He was going to be stern about that.

Lance leaned away, and Keith whined unhappily. As he met the Alpha’s gaze though, he was relieved to see that Lance was as red as he felt.

Suddenly, Lance smiled brightly. “Well, we’re going to do this right! First, we’re going on a date? We need some things like that too with all the work we’re putting in, you know?”

“A date? In space?” Keith raised an eyebrow.

“Trust me, it’ll be the best date ever! I’m going to woo the pants off of you!” He wiggled his eye brows. “Literally.”

Keith couldn’t stop himself from laughing loudly, all of the tension and awkwardness vanishing. “Well, we can’t do anything like _that_ yet, but I hear that kissing is a great way to start.” Being around Lance made him forget about all of the bad things happening at the moment, and Keith really needed to forget about it all before he went insane.

Lance snickered and closed the distance between them. Keith hummed in approval. It was only now that he realized he had missed this so much. He had been holding Lance at a bit of a distance lately, and it was a terrible idea in retrospect.

The Alpha was right. They would find Shiro, but moments like this were the only thing that was going to keep them sane in the long run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the chapter where a lot of random things happen and the time jumps vary so much from scene to scene that you have no idea what's going on! 
> 
> Hence why the overlying theme with all of them is Shiro, in different ways. Also Klance. 
> 
> Unpopular opinion: I actually think I like the term 'Laith' better. It's a more balanced mix of their names, it doesn't sound as harsh, and it's the one Lauren had in mind with all those crazy meanings beside it.
> 
> Oh! And to clarify the Allura and Lance part...there may be some controversy behind Shallura (if Allura's supposed to be more around the other Paladin's ages), but I still think it's kind of cute. My fix? Allura thinks Shiro is hot but that's where it ends and honestly who can blame her?


	9. Give and Take

Lance had everything planned down to a tee. He had managed to find a secluded part of the castle where they could cuddle together and watch the stars, and he had helped Hunk make some wonderfully appetizing food that actually seemed pretty close to Earth food. Keith was right to be a bit skeptical, there wasn’t _that_ much to do on the castleship when it came to romantic dates, but a picnic under the stars seemed clichéd enough.

He was _excited_ , and not just because sex really seemed to be on the plate. Okay, maybe he was excited for that, but they hadn’t really done much for actual planned out dates. They tried from time to time with varying success, but it was hard, all things considered. It would be nice, and honestly, the soft, surprisingly cuddly Keith that reared his head more and more when they were alone was one of Lance’s favourites.

Not to say that badass Keith wasn’t hot too. Lance was sure he had a screw loose, because knowing your Omega could probably break you if you wanted to should not be as attractive as he found it.

“Paladins!” Coran’s voice came over the intercoms, and Lance groaned. He knew what was going to happen. “Report to command immediately!”

Lance couldn’t help but drag his feet, pouting a bit as they gathered on the command deck. Of course they picked up a distress beacon, and of course they were going to go help. They were Voltron, it’d be wrong not to, no matter what else was happening.

“I had a plan,” Lance pouted as he and Keith made their way to their lions. “It was going to be romantic.”

Keith chuckled and put a hand on his back. “Come on, Sharpshooter, get ready. When we get back you can show me this romantic date.”

Lance sighed, but smiled slightly in return. “Fine, fine. But I retain my right to bestow cheesy pick-up lines on you.”

“Like anything I say or do could stop you.” The Red Paladin rolled his eyes and kept going.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

The first thing that they were informed, as they went down to the planet in distress, was to _not_ remove their helmets under any circumstances. Though the atmosphere should have been breathable, Pidge was getting incredibly odd readings that didn’t sit well with her, and they didn’t want to take any risks.

“They’re rabbits,” Hunk muttered quietly as they met with the aliens in question. “They’re space bunnies.”  
  
Space bunnies that were up to Pidge’s hip, could walk on two legs from time to time, and wore gas-masks. Nothing at all disturbing about that.

“Roggaaar,” one of the bunny-people introduced himself.

“Oh my god his name is Roger and he’s a rabbit,” Pidge wheezed out, trying to keep quiet.

“They’re so cute,” Lance couldn’t help but mutter.

Pidge looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He did not like the smile on her face. “Are you a furry, Lance?” Her eyes shifted to Keith, and went wide. “Oh my god. Keith’s part space-cat. You _are_ a furry.”

“I am not a furry!” Lance burst out, attracting everyone’s attention. He chuckled weakly and said, “Sorry. Earth thing.” Keith side-eyed him oddly.

“As I was saying,” Roggaaar continued on. Oh, apparently he had been talking earlier. “Our planet has many resources, but the Galra who settled on our moon were trying to steal it. Our numbers are too great for them to handle, so they started developing something to deter this.”

“Deter it?” Allura asked. She had hitched a ride with Pidge down, and it was a good thing, because the rest of them were a little bit hopeless with this whole interacting with the aliens things. That was normally Shiro’s job.

Roggaaar turned to the rabbit in a lab coat beside him. They opened a bag that was over their shoulder, and produced a cylinder that contained an orange mist that instantly made Lance wary. “This is what they are creating up there. It’s a chemical agent used to render populations sterile.”

“That’s awful!” Hunk cried out.

“The Galra are…creating weapons that sterilize entire planets?” Allura asked, her voice rising with alarm. Lance couldn’t blame her. It was absolutely horrifying to think about.

“Oh my god, throw me into it,” Pidge breathed out.  
  
“Pidge!” Hunk cried out.

Keith back away from the sample, looking rather alarmed. Lance reached forward and placed a hand on his back, and the Omega looked at him with wide eyes. He didn’t blame him for not wanting the chemical anywhere near him.

Lance was all too aware that one of Keith’s things was that he wanted a _choice_ in what happened in his life. That chemical could easily take away one of his choices.

Almost as a reminder, Lance gently rapt Keith’s helmet. Even if that thing did crack open, their helmets would protect them.

“We need to destroy the labs on the moon,” Keith spoke up.

“Render them useless, at least,” Hunk agreed with him.

The first part of any plan (that wasn’t Keith’s version of show up and blow up), was observation. That was where Pidge came in with Green. As the only lion with cloaking, Green could get close to the moon station without anyone noticing them.

There were two buildings, one that appeared to be an actual command center that was manned only by a single Galra, as well as bunch of sentries. The second building had a few more Galra working there, but there really wasn’t that many.

“Makes sense, actually,” Pidge noted when she reported back to everyone else. “They wouldn’t want to accidentally be exposed to that stuff as well, right?”

The plan after that was simple: divide and conquer. Keith, Pidge, and Allura would be going to the command center to take down the Galra there so that he couldn’t radio for help. Lance and Hunk, being the long-range fighters, would handle the actual lab so that they could keep their distance. The moon was lifeless outside of the Galra, so the plan was to hopefully blow up and destroy the chemicals afterwards.

Lance felt good about this plan. He felt confident as he and Hunk snuck their way into the lab.

So he was incredibly confused when, the next thing he knew, he was stumbling forward into a strong pair of arms.

He blinked a few times before looking around. He was in the med bay. “Huh?”

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” Allura said, pressing her hands against Lance’s arms to help him stand up straight. Her eyes were watery and blinking rapidly. “We were all so scared.”

“Huh?” Lance blinked and looked around, slowly realizing that he was back in the castle. “Where’s the lab? What happened?” Clearly he had done something stupid that led to him winding up in one of the healing pods again. Honestly, for all the crap they gave Keith for being impulsive, Lance was the one that ended up in there more often than not.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Allura assured him, her voice wavering. “It was the Galra. What do you remember from the mission?”

_Red flashing lights. A loud bang as something ricocheted off of his helmet so hard that it sent it flying. Falling to the ground. Hunk screaming his name in alarm._

Lance groaned and put his hand to his head.

There had been an explosion.

“Hunk!” Lance blurted out, eyes wide and frantic. He wheeled around to look at the other pods, freezing when he saw the one beside him. Hunk was inside, looking rather peaceful and one hundred percent healed. “Why’s he still in there?”

_Hunk leaning over him, eyes wide with horror. Things fading in and out as a yellow helmet was suddenly shoved over his head and sealed. A loud bang that destroyed the walls separating the chemical from them._

Lance’s stomach twisted, and he almost threw up. “Allura. Allura, what happened to Hunk? I remember losing my helmet, but I don’t know how…I don’t…what happened to him? There was an explosion, right?” His eyes were watering.

“Lance. It wasn’t your fault.”

He looked up towards his friend, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. “He didn’t have his helmet. He didn’t have his helmet because he put it on me! Then the chemicals…they…”  
  
“The Galra blew up the wall to the production lab in a last ditch attempt to harm you. They also tried to destroy all of their information,” Allura confirmed for him. “Pidge got it anyway.” She paused for a moment. “All of your scans have come back entirely normal.”

“And Hunk?”

“I think Coran and I should discuss that with him first,” she said, though her hesitation was enough of an answer.

Lance was freaking out. No, he was more than freaking out. He was about to absolutely lose it.

“Breathe with me, Lance.” Allura spoke firmly to him. They were silent as he managed to match her steady, strong breaths. “Good. I can try to comm Keith to come here, if it would help you.”

Keith? Lance’s stomach twisted. “Keith?” That’s right, Keith had been on the moon with him.

“I’ve never seen him so terrified,” Allura said, and if Lance didn’t know better, he would have sworn she was trying to embellish this more than normal. “He was the one that brought you two back to the castle and refused to leave you. He was so distraught.” She paused. “Coran even had to sedate him so he’d go to sleep. He’s back in his room.”

His protective instincts reared up, fighting past his panic and fear involving Hunk. His inner Alpha screamed at him to check on his Omega.

“Allura…”

“Go!”

Knowing that she could very well toss him out of the room if she chose to, Lance scurried away. His stomach was rumbling with hunger, meaning that he had been in the pod for quite a while. He ignored that though, because it wasn’t important. What was important was his Omega. His Omega needed him. Hunk wouldn’t forgive him if he left one of their pack members so distressed.

It never once occurred to him that Allura had made Keith’s situation out to be worse than it was to distract him, playing on the instincts that she knew he had. It only hit him later that she played him perfectly.

God, Keith was going to be furious with him. He always seemed to get angry when Lance got hurt, though usually at whatever hurt him. The only time it seemed to be at him was when he did something particularly stupid. He wasn’t even sure if this counted as him being stupid or not.

Had Keith eaten? If Lance was hungry, surely he was too. There was a bunch of food he had made that Hunk would insist on them eating. He would want them to keep up their strength. Hunk would be offended, and he couldn’t offend Hunk, not after what he had done for him.

He took all of the food that he had planned to use on his date, knowing that Hunk would want him to, and that Keith probably hadn’t eaten at all.

Lance was almost nervous by the time he got to Keith’s room. He stared at the door almost nervously, before reaching out and knocking.

No one answered, and Lance panicked. He stumbled inside, only to see that Keith was curled up on his bed, back facing the door. Lance wasn’t sure if he was awake or not, stepped a little bit close. The door slid shut behind him, and he said, “Keith?”

The Red Paladin’s reaction was immediate. He jumped, twisting around to stare at Lance with wide, red-rimmed eyes.

“Lance,” he breathed out, before suddenly launching himself off of his bed. He was in front of Lance before the other could move, hands gripping the front of his white suit tightly. “You idiot! You fucking idiot! Don’t you _dare_ do that again!”

Lance’s free arm wrapped around Keith’s shoulders. “I’m sorry for scaring you.” He knew that he had done nothing wrong when he actually got hurt, and he knew that Keith knew that too. The Omega was just _scared_ and tended to react to all strong emotions with some form of anger. It was something he was working on.

Keith inhaled sharply and shook his head wildly. He tried to say something, but was unable to articulate what it actually was he wanted to stay. Instead, he yanked Lance towards him in a searing, bruising kiss.

Lance groaned and leaned into him, lips moving almost desperately. His free hand snaked around Keith’s waist, the other one balancing the box of food between them.

Keith backed away when he jabbed himself on the corner of the box. He glared at it before looking at Lance curiously.

“I promised you a date. I made food and everything.” He frowned. “Well, Hunk helped.” Then Lance felt as if something had burst inside of him. He was vaguely aware that Keith took the box from him, though he didn’t know when he had started crying.

Keith dragged him backwards, forcing him to sit on the impossibly comfortable blanket, and wrapping his arms around him. “Hunk’s okay. He’s fine. He’s okay. I saw the scans myself.”  
  
“He put his helmet on me,” Lance choked. “He put his helmet on me when mine got shot off so that I wouldn’t breathe that stuff in. If he—if he can’t—if he’s…”

Keith squeezed him so tightly that it was almost painful. That was fine for Lance. It grounded him. “Don’t…devalue his choices,” Keith breathed out. It sounded almost condescending, but even now, Lance knew that Keith was trying to help. “God, I feel like _such_ an asshole.”  
  
That took Lance by surprise. He leaned back away from Keith and took everything in. He hadn’t even realized that the Omega was sitting on his lap, straddling him so that he could hug him as tightly as possible. He really appreciated that. Lance’s eyes fluttered a bit as Keith ran his hands over his cheeks, using his gloves to carefully wipe away the tears that gathered there.

“I am greedy and selfish,” Keith continued, still holding eye contact with Lance. “I’m so glad that Hunk’s going okay. So, so glad. But I…I’m glad it wasn’t you.”

“What?”  
  
“I—it wouldn’t make what I feel change, but still, I—I was glad to hear that the chemicals didn’t hurt you. That Hunk saved you.” He looked down now. “That’s the selfish part, because I don’t even know if I want…but…yeah.”

Lance blinked and slowly understood. Keith was glad that Lance could, potentially, still have children in the future. He warmed at the thought, because really, that was like a dream for him. He wanted Keith as his mate. Wanted him as a co-parent and partner. Of course they could do that _without_ the ability to reproduce themselves, but the thought that Keith may potentially be up to carry _his_ child in the future was mind-numbing.

It was what Lance needed to hear. It was probably what Hunk was thinking when he saved him. The Yellow Paladin _knew_ what family meant to Lance.

So in a selfish way, he was glad that Hunk had saved him too.

“I understand,” Lance assured him. “If it makes you feel better, I guess I kind of feel the same? I’m so sorry for scaring you either way.”

A noise torn between a distressed whine and a sad whimper escaped from Keith. Lance didn’t at all like that sound, but he understood. Keith had already lost his brother. To see his boyfriend be so badly injured must have been hell on top of that. Lance also knew that Keith wasn’t unaffected by Hunk being injured too. He _did_ care about the whole team, just in his own way.

His hand brushed against Keith’s cheek as he closed the distance between them. Keith responded immediately, parting his lips and running his tongue against Lance’s lips. The taller of the two groaned and opened his mouth in response.

Keith’s hands ran over his shoulders, one resting beside his scent gland, thumb brushing gently against it. Lance to shiver, his free hand sliding to the small of Keith’s back and tugging him closer. He groaned as Keith’s other hand ran through his hair.

Lance felt like he was on cloud nine as his lips moved against Keith’s, tongues brushing against one another. He grunted when Keith moved away slightly and nipped at his lips.

Warmth rushed through him, but it was nothing compared to the scents that seemed to float around them. It had to be the best thing that Lance had ever had the pleasure of smelling.

He broke away, gasping for air, shivering again when he realized that the smell was coming from Keith. Immediately, Lance leaned down, lips pressing against his neck, nose brushing close to his scent gland.

“You did scare me,” Keith breathed out, eyes fluttering as Lance peppered kisses along his pulse.

 “I’m sorry about that,” Lance answered against his skin. He was a little jealous of how soft and smooth it was. “But it happens, right?” He bit down on the skin before running his tongue against the mark and then sucking.

A surprised, loud moan escaped Keith. His back arched, and then he pushed Lance backwards so that he was laying on the bed with Keith on top of him. The impact on the bed caused Lance to bite down a little more harshly on Keith’s neck than he meant to.

Not that the Omega seemed to mind. If anything, it seemed to rile him up as an air of desperation overwhelmed them both.

“I thought I lost you,” Keith choked out. “For a little while, on that moon, none of us knew what was going on. You weren’t responding and Hunk yelled your name and then he went quiet and I just—”  
  
“You didn’t.” Lance pressed a gentle kiss to the mark before moving farther down his neck. “I’m still here.”

“Prove it.” Keith breathed out, scraping his blunt nails against Lance’s scent gland.

The Alpha moaned, rolling them over so that he was on top, hips grinding against his boyfriend’s. “Shit. I was going to take you on a romantic picnic.” Not to mention this really was poorly timed on their pair, but Lance didn’t _want_ to stop. He _needed_ to keep going.  
  
“Food later,” the Omega insisted. “Need you now.”  
  
Lance moved back from his neck, capturing his lips in a heated kiss. He didn’t want to think anymore. He just wanted to feel.

…

Hunk groaned as he slowly blinked open his eyes, shivering as he felt the chill from the healing pod. He stumbled a bit, strong hands grabbing his arm to keep him steady.

He looked up to see Coran beside him. It surprised Hunk a little bit to see just how strong the man was, but he should have realized that would be the case. Allura was wickedly strong, and though her magic was fairly unique, her strength was not.

“Easy there,” Coran said encouragingly. “You had a few nasty injuries.”

Hunk shook his head to clear out his thoughts before alarm rushed through him. “The explosion! Lance! Is Lance okay?”

“Lance spent a few varga in a pod as well, but Allura assures me that he’s quite alright. No doubt he’s off with Keith somewhere. You were actually supposed to be out before him, but I kept you in the pod for a few varga longer.”

That made Hunk stop and stare at him. “Why?” Healing pods scanned their injuries and healed them. Rarely ever did the programming have to be manually altered.  
  
“There is something that showed on your scans.” Coran spoke slowly and seriously. “Perhaps you would like to sit down and I can show you how to read it?” He motioned towards the infirmary.

He thought back to what had happened. He remembered feeling horror rush through him as Lance’s helmet was blasted clear off his head. For a moment, he had been worried that his friend’s entire head had come off. Then he remembered where they were. Remembered exactly what kind of chemical they were dealing with.  
  
It hadn’t really been a choice to give Lance his helmet. It was simply the right thing to do.

Hunk sat on the ground, and said, “You kept me in longer hoping that it’d help heal me, didn’t you?”  
  
“Yes,” Coran admitted, sitting beside him.

“It didn’t work,” he noted.

“No,” the Altean confirmed, sounding regretful. “I tried everything to reverse the chemical damage. I can give you a record of what happened and everything we did, if you’d like.”  
  
“Yeah, in a bit,” Hunk agreed. He felt oddly calm and serene, even though he had just been told that he had been inadvertently sterilized by the Galra. “How’s Lance taking it?”

Coran seemed taken back by his calm demeanor. He struggled for a moment before saying, “Allura told me that he panicked. She used Keith to get him to calm down – triggered his protective instincts I believe. I haven’t checked on him, but I’m sure he’ll be okay.”  
  
“Good, that’s good,” Hunk said with a nod of his head. “I’m a bit hungry. Is it okay to go?”  
  
“You are physically fine,” Coran confirmed. “But…Hunk, if you need someone to talk to about all of this, you can talk to me. You’re young, and perhaps what was lost doesn’t matter that much right now, but maybe someday it will bother you. I just want you to know that I’m here.”

“I’m not going to rot away from the inside, so that’s what matters,” Hunk insisted as he stood up, forcing a big smile onto his face. “I’m starving. Thanks for everything, Coran!” He didn’t really wait, despite knowing that it was rather rude of him.

His smile slowly vanished, as the realization of what Coran’s news meant. Of course he had known what it meant, but it still didn’t really hit him. Honestly, he had no plans for a family, so he couldn’t be overly disappointed. He wasn’t going to acknowledge that this might have more to do with what Coran said about how he was _young_ , because most people his age knew whether they genuinely wanted to pursue an Omega and have a family, and he didn’t, and he wasn’t going to think about the what ifs. He wasn’t sure he could handle that and focused on what he _did_ know.

Lance would have been crushed by the loss. It would have only worsened his insecurities. Keith was warming up to them all more and more, and it genuinely wouldn’t surprise Hunk if, in a few years’ time, he decided that he would be open to having a child. They couldn’t necessarily adopt a child that they could one day take back to Earth in space unless they found more Alteans, and he knew that Lance wanted to go back to Earth.

No. Hunk knew he had done the right thing. He didn’t regret that. It still sucked that he couldn’t have saved the both of them though.

His mind instantly went to a certain beautiful Balmeran.

The Galra were a special species that could interbreed with almost any other known species. That didn’t mean that anything could. So with his current interests, that wasn’t a big deal.

He entered the kitchen and set about to get some food goo. He didn’t feel like cooking much right now, surprisingly a lot.

What did hit him hard was the fact that he was the Pack Leader. He was an Alpha. An Alpha was defined by the fact that they were fertile. What did _that_ make him? Certainly not the apex Alpha that he was supposed to be as Pack Leader.

A bitterness rushed through him. Of course the one time they find something that the pods can’t heal, it had to be something like this. He didn’t even understand _why_ it couldn’t heal him properly.

Then again, as much as they were in pure awe of Altean technology, it was 10,000 years old. Most worlds they came across were less advanced, but it was stupid to think that Altean technology wouldn’t be _a little_ out of date. There were probably others vastly more advanced than the Atleans had been, even if they didn’t use Quintessence.

10,000 years was a long time, and for a destroyed planet, it was amazing that there were _any_ traces of Alteans at all across the universe. It had taken humans far less time to complete erase other civilizations from the surface of the globe and the history books as well.

So yes, maybe it made sense that the 10,000-year-old healing pod didn’t completely work with a new chemical. He got that. It still sucked really hard though.

Maybe Lance would be the better Pack Leader.

Hunk sighed and started eating the bland, nasty food goo. He really just needed to fill his stomach and get some sleep.

Everything else could wait.

…

Pidge stared at the machine in front of her with a pout. It was able to scan for specific species so far, which was wildly helpful when there were only five humans and a half-human this far from Earth, but she felt like it wasn’t enough.

She felt like she wasn’t enough.

It was pretty obvious to her that Hunk would probably seem upbeat after what happened. She could already picture it. It Pidge feel terrible about joking that she wanted to be thrown into the chemical.

She didn’t want kids. The more she thought about it, the more time passed, the older she got, the more she was sure of it. Keith had said that he didn’t want his options taken away from him, that he had the right to decide what to do with his body himself. She could appreciate and respect that. In fact, she agreed with it whole heartedly.

And Hunk had that choice made for him.

Pidge took a deep breath, and tried to calm her shaking hands. She was the smart one, the one with answers, but she felt so helpless to help her family. She couldn’t keep the ones with her safe, how was she supposed to find the ones that were lost?

Her mind ran over where everyone else was. Hunk had been half-heartedly eating earlier, but she was fairly certain that Coran had pulled him deep into the ship to help fix some things that the Altean had purposely screwed up. It gave him something else to do. She had last seen Allura sluggishly going to her own room, exhaustion apparently catching up to her. She hadn’t seen Lance at all, but avoided both his room and Keith’s because she was pretty sure that they were probably together and she definitely didn’t want to find them anytime soon.

She pushed aside the machine she was working on and leaned back in her chair. Maybe Allura had it right, maybe she could use a rest. They all needed it.

…

There was something to be said about skin on skin contact. Keith hadn’t been a fan of people touching him, and sometimes he still shied away from it, but it almost felt right and natural with Lance. Maybe it was because the ridiculous Alpha had managed to blast a hole in the walls he built around himself to make his own personal entrance (Keith was not a poet). Maybe it was because Lance’s skin was soft and he was warm. Keith didn’t actually know. What he did know was that he loved the feeling of Lance’s arms around his waist, nose buried into his neck as he slept.

Despite that, he moved back some so that he could stare at Lance’s face, studying his features up close. He wasn’t the big, overly muscular person that was always advertised as the ‘proper Alpha’, in fact, he looked softer, more like what someone would think an Omega would be like. Keith could see it though, how he was very much an Alpha, just as Keith himself was very much an Omega.

When Lance asked him about maybe someday having kids, he had been honest when he said maybe. Never before Lance had Keith considered it, and he was still of the opinion that he’d be a shitty parent, but he could _see_ Lance cradling a baby that was almost his mirror image. They would be happy with silly jokes, and would be loved by their father. Keith would do what he could, but it probably wouldn’t be much. He _could_ give Lance that though.

Then again, Keith could barely keep anyone he loved close to him. If he gave Lance a child, would it just get taken away from him? Would he lose them both? That was unbearable to even think about.  
  
A voice inside of Keith screamed that he was far too close, that he had to get away before he was hurt. At the same time, he couldn’t and didn’t want to. Being with Lance was the safest he had felt in a long time. Even though he had almost been taken away from him by _getting shot in the head_ and then having part of a building explode around him, Lance had held on, had kept his promise, and came back.

That alone made Keith want to give the Alpha everything he wanted and what, in Keith’s opinion, deserved.

Keith desperately wished that Shiro was still with them. His brother could help him sort out his confused, wild thoughts about bonding with someone, why his mind was changing, and life in general.  

He just didn’t know what to do about that anymore. On Earth, the first 48 hours were key to finding a missing person, but that was on _Earth,_ in a specific location, not in the middle of space with a lion that teleported him away.  Keith knew that just looking in space was essentially useless, but it was really all he could do.  
  
Sure, Keith was smart and good at solving puzzles, but he wasn’t like Pidge or Hunk, who could be the most amazing things out of nothing but their imaginations.

The best lead they had was the Black Lion, who had remained stationary, in a rather dejected pile in their hangar. Black hadn’t responded to anyone else asking them questions about Shiro, but Keith had felt that little flicker of warmth when he was in there, the warmth that told him that Black may actually speak to him.

Keith didn’t want them to. It was why he stayed far away from the lion. He wasn’t a leader. He was a certified _mess_. Oh, he was a good soldier. He knew his own strengths and abilities, knew when to take a risk and when it was time to pull himself out. That was different. If he was wrong, he was the only one that suffered. The others though? He couldn’t lead them.  
  
Not to mention he was an Omega. Omegas just didn’t lead. They laid back, spread their legs, and let their Alphas have their ways with them. They stayed home to care for the children. They were told what to do.  
  
Wow, that was hypocritical of him, wasn’t he? He spent all of time arguing that Omegas couldn’t truly be defined by their stereotypes (all dynamics, for that matter), but the second the argument suited him, he used it.

Lance shifted beside him, eyes fluttering open. Keith stared at them, taking in the rich blue colour. If they did have a kid someday, he wanted them to look like Lance. Nothing like him. Nothing Galra either.

“Where are you at right now?” Lance asked him, his voice tired and low.

“Huh?”

“You look like your mind’s running a mile a minute.”

“It’s nothing,” Keith assured him. To avoid eye contact, he shifted closer, tucking his head under Lance’s chin. He didn’t want to talk about his flaws and insecurities right now. Instead, he focused on the other problem. “Lance, do you think we’ll find Shiro?”

Lance ran his hand up and down Keith’s back, the muscles twitching lightly under his hands. “I want to say yes, and not just to make you feel better. I want to say yes because Hunk and Pidge are going to blow us away with their tracking system when they get it figured out, and because Shiro himself is a fighter. He’s going to do everything he can to get back to us.” He sighed against Keith’s head. “I know it hurts. I know it’s frustrating. We are doing everything we can though.”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Keith mumbled.  
  
“I know.”

They fell silent for a moment before Keith said, “When we were all separated by that wormhole, Shiro asked me something, and ever since, he was kind of…training me, I guess?”

“He wants you to pilot Black,” Lance said. He had _known_ that Shiro saw Keith as his second-in-command. It was obvious by the way he left Keith in charge when they split up.

“I have before,” Keith admitted. “It was just to save Shiro though and—when we were in Black, I felt something. I don’t know what. I—they _know_ what happened to Shiro and I want to ask but…I don’t want…I’m not…I’m not a leader. I can’t be whatever Shiro thought I was.”

Lance breathed out, his hand trailing up to cup Keith’s chin. Keith felt him put a little bit of pressure there, and allowed him to tilt his head up. “I think that maybe you’d be a bit rough around the edges as a leader,” Lance admitted, “but I’d support you anyway.”  
  
“I’m an Omega, Lance.” Keith replied, unable to hide the sheer distress that was crawling through him. “You could probably fly Black. You’d be an amazing leader, and you’re an Alpha. I don’t—I don’t want that. We can’t replace Shiro anyway. If we do then it means…” His distress finally slipped out in a whine.

“The lions don’t give a shit about dynamics,” Lance pointed out dryly. “You’re worried that if we get another Black Paladin, that it means we’re giving up on Shiro. We’re not though.” Lance leaned own, pressing his forehead to Keith’s. “I swear; we’re not giving up on him. We’ll do everything we can, but the universe won’t go on hold either. You know?”

“I know,” Keith agreed, unable to hide his frustration. “I do know.” For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to do anything. He just wanted to stay here with Lance. Here was safe and warm, and there were no problems. 

“We still got some time before anyone comes looking for us. Go to sleep,” Lance told him.  
  
“Not tired.”

“I bet I can tire you out.”

Keith let out a sharp laugh at that and said, “Smooth.”

“That’s not a no.”

“It’s definitely not a no,” Keith agreed with him. He didn’t care whether it was cuddling, sex, or sleep, Keith just wanted to be as close to Lance as he could.

It felt so much safer than facing the rest of the world.

…

Allura sat alone on the bridge, her head resting in her hands. Her shoulders shook from both sadness and frustration. It had only been a few weeks since they lost Shiro, and it was becoming far too much to function as it was. What had happened to Hunk was what triggered her current state. She kept going over what had happened, trying to think of things that she could have done differently.

She should have just let them form Voltron and destroy the bases on that moon. Except they _couldn’t_ form Voltron.

She slowly looked up, eyes falling on the mice that sat on her lap, not making a sound. That was fine, their presence mattered more than anything else. Despite the fact that they had all been asleep, the mice had been her companions for ten thousand years.

“I lost everything,” she whispered to them, catching their attention. “But so did you. But I—this hurts more.” It was hard to explain. Allura _knew_ that her home was gone. Knew that her people had all been destroyed, and were forgotten to a large portion of the universe. Yet, somehow, it still felt like a distant nightmare. It made her feel sick, it made her feel alone, but it also still felt like it wasn’t real.

She had grown up in the Castle of Lions on and off since she was a baby. Her mother was the Queen of Altea by blood, her father had married into the royal family. This meant that Allura was on Altea for the most part as a young child until she was only nine.

Then her mother was taken from her. Her father couldn’t exactly stop being the Red Paladin of Voltron, so they had set up representatives for him, and he often commed into meetings as they travelled from world to world.

Allura loved Altea, but she had spent more time traveling through space than anything else.

Maybe that was why she felt a disconnect to Altea’s destruction. Coran had once whispered that maybe they needed to see if there was anything where it once was – ruins or an asteroid belt or perhaps some small moons. Maybe it would have been good for her, but after losing the AI of her father, Allura didn’t _want_ to face that pain.

She didn’t think that these new paladins would draw a pain even greater than the thought of losing Altea, yet here she was, in hear hysterics. All of her beloved Paladins, her new family, were lost. They were broken and fractured, and she didn’t quite know what to do with it.

Shiro had been a good friend to her, the paladin that she worked with the most. He was like an older brother, and they had spent more time playing computer games together than either of them would ever admit to anyone else. Though he had always been a bit overly protective and sometimes formal, he was also the first one to treat her similarly to the other Paladins rather than _just_ a Princess.

Now he was gone, and Allura was ashamed that it hurt so much. She had lost all of her people, her literal world, but somehow, the thought of losing any more of these strange paladins was truly unbearable.

She had been most worried about Keith at first. She had been so sure that they’d wake up and he’d be gone. Lance kept him grounded though, kept him stable and present with them. It meant so much to her. Then she had been worried because Pidge was pulling away again, putting everything she had into finding both her brother and Shiro.

Then they had almost lost Hunk and Lance to an explosion and attack that could have been avoided.

Lance pulled through without any issue, but poor, wonderful Hunk had been hurt in a way that couldn’t be fixed by a pod. In a way that made Allura cringe. She couldn’t understand why Hunk just shrugged it off, turned the topic away when someone tried to bring it up. She supposed that it was just the way he was coping, but she still worried.

Allura was one of two left of her species. They were essentially extinct. Even if she found a partner in the future and had a child of her own, they would only be half Altean, and slowly the genes would vanish over time, diluted with whatever the other species was. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have that torn away from her. Hunk was so much stronger than his soft, sweet, albeit suspicious and paranoid at times, demeanor made him seem.

Though, she and Coran weren’t the only Alteans left, were they? Zarkon’s witch was one, and perhaps there were others out there. She didn’t know, and right now, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the family she did have was hurting, and it felt like a storm was coming. Yes, the coalition was building, but it didn’t hide the fact that something was wrong.

Keith’s outburst earlier that day during their coalition meeting said as much.

Zarkon was defeated, but the Empire didn’t fall. Realistically, she didn’t expect it to, but she expected to feel more of an impact. Everything felt the same though. It was like nothing had changed, almost like Zarkon hadn’t been the problem in the first place. She didn’t even _want_ to think about that.

She didn’t want to think about how Shiro was just gone, and after so long of working side by side, it left a gaping wound in all of them.

It hurt so much, but the universe needed them.

“I’m sorry, Shiro,” Allura whispered. “We’ll look for you. We’ll try to find out, but we need to keep moving forward.” It was really all she knew how to do.

Shiro had been gone for _weeks_ now, and things were starting to stir in the Empire again. All of them were at a standstill, going through the motions almost mindlessly.

They _couldn’t_ wait any longer.

They needed a new Black Paladin.

…

“Please no.”

He had begged the Black Lion, pleaded with them. He couldn’t be a leader. He couldn’t even be a fraction of what Shiro was. He didn’t play well with others. He didn’t plan well. Hell, he was an _Omega_.

This wasn’t right. _Lance_ should be the Black Paladin now. He was an amazing person. He was more strategical and patient. It made sense for _him_ to be leader. It made sense for Allura to be the leader. Not Keith.

Black wouldn’t be swayed though. They didn’t care about something as trivial as human dynamics. They had chosen Keith, and they weren’t changing their mind. Not even after he proved just how horrible a leader he was, almost letting Lotor take out the entire team with ease. If it wasn’t for Lance straightening him out, Voltron wouldn’t be around anymore.

Keith was quick to escape from Black’s hangar, rushing to his own room. Once he was there, he _threw_ the white and red parts of his armour across the room, watching them fall to the floor without a dent on them. He ripped the black part off, leaving him in the undershirt and leggings, then threw himself onto his bed, burying his face into the pillow as he let out a scream. Screaming into pillows was one of the coping mechanisms Shiro taught him when dealing with his anger, rather than just punching things.

He had failed Shiro so much that it hurt. Allura, who was just getting used to Blue, was amazing when she got the hang of it. Lance was unwavering in his support – calling him out on his bullshit but not belittling him and helping him try to fix everything.

If he didn’t feel so shitty, he’d probably feel like going up and kissing Lance for that, because that was absolutely what he needed in his life. He didn’t need to be coddled. He needed a partner to act as his stability.

“Keith?” Speak of the devil, and he would appear. He thought of ignoring Lance, not wanting the Alpha to see him like this. “I know you’re in there and I’m not leaving.” Well then. Two could play at the stubborn game. “I’m the youngest of six siblings, you can’t beat me in this.” Damn him.

“Ugh. Come in.” Keith’s voice was still muffled by the pillow, but apparently Lance heard him. That, or he just came in anyway.

Lance flounced into the room, back in his normal clothes, and flopped down directly beside Keith on the bed so that he was on his stomach too. The Red (not Black…he wasn’t the Black one) Paladin yelped with surprise and looked over at him with wide eyes. Why was he in such a good mood?

“We did it,” Lance said, twisting to his side and pushing himself up on one arm to stare down at him. “We formed Voltron. We scared Lotor away.”

“After I almost got us killed,” Keith grumbled.

“Okay, yeah,” Lance conceded. “But you know what I saw out there? Well, what I saw eventually?”

“What?” Crippling failure?

“I saw what you _could_ be.” He smiled broadly. “When you listened to us, when we worked together, we managed to do it. It’ll take some practice, but hell, we started out wonky the first time, right? So what if you’re not instantly a leader? I think you could be an amazing one.”  
  
“It…but I’m…I’m the loner,” Keith spluttered out. “How can I…why would…I can’t do this Lance.” He shook his head and then buried his face in his pillow again, desperately trying to hide the fact that his eyes were watering. “I’m an Omega. I’m not built to lead. You are.”

Keith couldn’t see it, but he knew that Lance was frowning. He shifted again, pressing close to his side, one arm sliding across the back of his waist, nuzzling his face into the back of Keith’s neck by his scent gland. Keith’s body tensed up, but then relaxed. “We talked about this already.” Lance spoke lowly, lips right by Keith’s ear. “There’s more than one type of leader, you know. So you can’t be Shiro. Don’t be. You know I’m here for you. You don’t have to lead alone.” He pressed his lips to Keith’s ear. “I am Voltron’s right hand, after all. Your Alpha. Your right hand man. The main hand. The dominant hand.”

Feeling flustered and a bit embarrassed, Keith tried to think of something appropriate to reply with. Instead all he said was, “I’m ambidextrous.” He turned his head slightly to peak at his boyfriend.

Lance barked out a laugh, going back and nuzzling his neck. “Oh, I know.” Keith could feel his smirk against his skin, and shuddered a bit as his voice dropped. “I’ve seen what you can do with both hands at once. And you being an Omega and being the head of Voltron? Honestly? Kinda hot.”

Keith started when the Alpha patted his ass. “Oh my _god_ , Lance!” He tried to hide his smirk, but Lance leaned forward to catch sight of it.

“I see you smiling.” Lance moved again, tossing one leg over Keith so that he was partially laying on top of him, running a hand up and down Keith’s arm. “We’re a team, got it? I’m not gonna leave you high and dry in this – for both you and everyone else.”

Releasing a shaky breath, Keith slowly twisted around so that he was on his back. Lance moved so that his legs were on either side of Keith’s, keeping his body weight off of him by leaning on his forearms on either side of Keith’s head.

Keith’s expression softened and he reached up, running a hand through Lance’s hair. As much as the Alpha liked to play with his, he realized that Lance was a big fan of someone playing with his as well. “Thank you.”  
  
“You never have to thank me for that,” Lance replied, closing his eyes and sighing happily.

Keith’s free hand went to Lance’s back, pressing down to urge the Alpha to rest against him entirely. Lance muttered something he didn’t hear, but let his weight rest against Keith’s, buried his face into the crook of his neck and pressing gentle kisses there.

“Are you okay?” Keith asked him, running his fingers through his hair.

“Mmm, never better.” Lance leaned up, pressing his lips to Keith’s. He responded eagerly, one hand fisting the back of Lance’s jacket.

What started out as sweet and comforting steadily escalated into traveling hands, twisting tongues, and gasping breaths.

“Keith,” Lance said, barely able to get the word out as he pulled away. “You good?”

“Yeah,” he replied breathlessly, though a tad annoyed that Lance stopped kissing him to _talk_. “Be better if you were kissing me again.”

“Hmm…them’s fighting words.” Lance’s eyes flickered across his face, clearly amused.

“I don’t want to fight right now.”

“What do you want?”

His lips parted, and then he said, “Whatever you want. I—I don’t want to pick. I don’t want to be…in control.” His face flushed with embarrassment.

Lance stopped moving entirely, his expression serious, but his scent indicting that he was _very_ interested in this proposition. “Whatever I want?”

“I want you to do whatever you want to me. Or get me to do whatever you want to you.”

The Alpha inhaled sharply. “You’ll tell me to stop if it hurts or gets uncomfortable?”

“…I wouldn’t mind if it hurt a bit.”

“Jesus Christ.” Lance buried his burning face into Keith’s neck. Keith’s eyes fluttered when he felt Lance’s harsh breath against his skin. “Okay. Okay. But use the safe word if you freak out, right?”  
  
Keith felt a thrill rush through him at whatever idea was running through the Alpha’s mind. He nodded his head. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody here would know this, but I absolutely LOVE foreshadowing. It's why I tend to write ahead. That way I can go back and alter things to add in hints about what's coming, some subtle, some not at all! 
> 
> Thank you to all the people who leave comments! I really appreciate it, and it actually does give me motivation and inspiration. It's how I survive on this wild update schedule (I've NEVER written/updated something so quickly in my life before. I've always limited myself to a strict once-a-week schedule but nope not now).


	10. Connections Between Us

The thing about extreme stress is that it was horrible on heats. Well, it was horrible on the body in general, but it really messed with heats.  It was something that both Pidge and Keith had to contend with. It was very unhealthy when they didn’t happen, so when the pack realized that _both_ of them had skipped their last heat, it was a cause for concern.

It was an even bigger concern when both of them felt it coming at the same time.

“Okay, there is _no_ way we’ll be able to form Voltron,” Hunk pointed out. “Just one of you? Yes. Both of you with regular, healthy heats? Yes. But both of you with super heats?”

“It’ll be fine,” Pidge insisted as she stocked up on food to take back to her room with her. “We can both pull through in a pinch.”

“Normally, I’d agree,” Allura said, her eyes sweeping around the room. “Especially based on past experience. Unfortunately, we’re still working on forming our new bonds, and Keith is the head of Voltron.” Her eyes turned to Keith. “In the time you and Pidge have been out here, I’ve noticed that you both seem a little dazed while in heat. You must be able to see why that’s not good for the head of Voltron.”

Another way he was a failure, great. Keith couldn’t deny it though. “So, what do we do?”

“I was thinking that, perhaps, we could go to a safe zone in space – perhaps check back with our allies while you and Pidge work through that,” she suggested. “Then we are still being productive, but the odds of needing Voltron or all the lions is quite low. It also gives me a chance to bond with Blue more, and Lance a chance to bond with Red.”

“No can do, Princess,” Lance responded happily. “Gonna be spending the whole time with Keith. It’s just you and Hunk.”

Allura stared at him uncomprehending, but then made a face as she understood what he was talking about.

Keith ignored that, focusing on the fact that Allura had a good plan, and he could almost smell how giddy Hunk was. No doubt he and Allura had discussed stopping by the Balmera to see Shay with him already.

His eyes scanned the other Paladins. Honestly, Keith was kind of jealous of Pidge. In comparison to him, her heat was going to be easy, if only for one very specific reason.

If he thought his last heat was bad because of his relationship with Lance, it was _nothing_ compared to now. He had to grit his teeth together, hands twisting into fists. He wasn’t even actually in heat yet, and already he wanted to have his Alpha’s hands all over him.  
  
It was probably a really good thing that he had his armour on so no one could smell that. They had tried training that morning, but it only lasted for so long.

Lance laughed at something Pidge said, and Keith couldn’t stop the stab of insecure jealousy that hit him hard. It was stupid, he knew it was, but it was still there.

Everyone looked at him as he slapped his hands against the table and pushed himself up. He left the room quickly, breathing in and our steadily as he felt his skin starting to warm under his armour. It looked like he was going to go down before Pidge this time. Probably because his mind had decided that he basically had a mate, so he was safe.

Before that though, before he lost it entirely, he and Lance really needed to talk about what was going to happen. The only thing that they had discussed so far was the fact that Lance was actually going to spend time with him. That was it.

Keith thought about waiting for Lance in his room, but that was where his nest was all set up, and he really didn’t want to have this conversation there, since his libido would probably take over his mind.

Instead, he waited in the lounge that was in Lance’s territory, the smell of the Alpha calming his nerves a bit, sorting out his own thoughts. He knew his boyfriend would find him eventually.

It took a little while, but the new Red Paladin sauntered into the room. “There you are! I was looking all over for you!” He swooped down and kissed Keith’s cheek before flopping onto the couch beside him. “You’re already warm. Is that why you stormed out all dramatically? Which is totally my thing.”

“You were probably a theatre-geek in school,” Keith noted. That was not at all relevant, but hey, Lance had been opening up to him more and more lately, and he liked learning new things about him.

“Theatre was my life in school and I am not at all ashamed of that, Mr. Conspiracy Board.” Lance poked him, snickering as Keith pushed his hand away. “Seriously though, what’s up?”

“I just…I thought we needed to actually talk about…you know…me going into heat?” Keith’s voice rose a bit as he nervously spoke. He was _not_ going to admit that he had felt a tiny bit of possessive jealous when he saw Lance laughing with Pidge. He _knew_ it was stupid.

Instantly, Lance’s face turned from his normal playful one to a serious one. He slowly nodded his head. “Yeah, we’ve been putting that off, haven’t we?” He played with them hem of Keith’s red jacket. “I mean, things are different between the two of us now, and Shiro’s not here too. Everything’s different.” 

That made something twist inside of Keith unpleasantly.

Lance reached up and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “Right, so, the question comes down to what do you want me to help you with?”  
  
Something in Keith melted a little bit at how serious Lance was taking this. He was such a good Alpha. “I want you to stay with me,” he clarified, his voice almost shy despite the fact that this was something they had talked about before. “Not just like last time. You know?”  
  
“Okay, so what do you want to do? Cause I know it can get pretty bad with anything but like…vaginal sex, right?” Lance’s cheeks darkened as if they _hadn’t_ experimented with different types of sex before. He must have caught on to how amused Keith was, because he quickly added, “And…I’m…we have to talk about the fact that if we have sex, cause I’m not going to push it on you no matter how good you smell, there _is_ the chance you could get pregnant, right?”

That was always a risk really. The contraceptives that Lance had found at the Earth store were amazing, and were said to prevent pregnancies 99% of the time. One of the reasons stated for having Alphas use the contraceptives instead of Omegas was so that the fluctuations in body chemicals that came with heats wouldn’t impact the effectiveness of them. An Omega couldn’t get pregnant if there was nothing for them to get pregnant from. Normally Keith would point out that it was also a control thing, but he was sure that his crazy, Galra genetics would have screwed something up, so he’d just nod his head and accept it.

This was when, normally, the terrifying thoughts of being forced into a specific role, or put into a situation he wasn’t ready for would normally plague his mind. That wasn’t the case this time though.  It was slowly occurring to him though that it wasn’t a bad thing if he _wanted_ to fit into some of those roles. What mattered was that he got to pick and choose what he wanted to be rather than playing into what others told him he _had_ to be.

Did he actively want to try for a baby right now? No. Jesus no. They were fighting a war, and that was not the type of life to bring a kid up in. Keith was the leader right now, and under so much stress that any pregnancy would likely end up as a miscarriage, and then that would lead to more emotional baggage (he already knew that he’d get far too attached far too fast).

The idea of having a baby someday didn’t actually scare him as much as it used to. He had told Lance ‘maybe’ before, and that maybe was slowly slipping more towards a ‘yes’. It still frightened him, but he had an Alpha that loved family, and would absolutely take care of him and any pups that they had. Lance made everything better.

Now really wasn’t the time for it though. Even though Keith was leaning more towards ‘yes’, he still wasn’t ready yet. In the future, if—when they survived this, when everything was safer, then they’d see.

“It won’t happen,” Keith said confidently. “It’s one percent, and I really don’t think our luck is that bad.”

“I agree,” Lance said with a nod of his head. “But, in the off, one percent chance that it happens…what then?”

Keith took a deep breath. “There could be worse things.”

Lance slowly nodded his head again, and then said, “I have to be completely honest with you.” He grabbed Keith’s hands, gently squeezing them. “This...Keith…you know I’m in love with you, right?”

Keith’s breath hitched. They had only said that once before, so he wasn’t actually sure if Lance regretted saying it or not. “Lance—”

“You’re amazing!” Lance blurted out, wanting to get everything out as quickly as he possibly could. “You’re so…just…you’re so strong, badass, and even if you come across a little rough at first, you’re an amazing person deep down too. I know you think you’re a messed up Omega but honestly, I think you’re the perfect one. So…so if you’ll have a loser like me, I really want to be with you. Like…in the mate kind of way.”

Face burning and heart racing, Keith squeezed Lance’s hands tightly. “What are you talking about? Lance, there wouldn’t be a team without you. We _all_ rely on you. Especially me. I couldn’t do this without you. You’re as much a leader of Voltron as I am.” He shook his head. “I’m terrible with people, and once we get back to Earth there are going to be so many people who are better than me, who are happier and more open, who don’t get scared the way I do. I don’t want you to mate with me and then regret it. You say I’m strong, but I don’t think I’m strong enough to take that, because I do want to be with you in that way too.”

What Lance was feeling was hard to describe. All he had ever really wanted was to be wanted, important to someone. Hearing Keith talk about how he needed Lance, hearing and smelling the honesty rolling off of him, made his heart soar. Hearing how little Keith thought of himself though made him so intensely sad. He understood it, because he felt the same about himself, but he didn’t like it.

“That will _never_ happen,” Lance assured him. Fiery determination rushed through him. “I’m going to do whatever I can to prove it. And if someday you ever get pregnant, you won’t have to worry. I’ll support whatever it is you want to do, no matter what it is. Okay?”

Keith couldn’t help but send him a watery smile. “Okay.”

…

Water pouches, different types of food and snacks that wouldn’t go bad, some extra vitamins just in case; Lance was pretty sure that he had everything.

He turned to head back to the bedrooms, only to crash into Hunk. They both scrambled backwards, Hunk managing to steady the box in Lance’s hands before it fell.

The Yellow Paladin regarded the contents curiously, before a sly smirk appeared on his face. “So, you’re actually staying with Keith this time, huh?”

Lance’s cheeks burned. “It’s no big deal. I comforted him and slept – actual sleep – with him during his last heat.”

“Yeah, but this is different, isn’t it?” Hunk wiggled his eyebrows. “Your scent says so.”

“Hunk!” Lance squeaked loudly. “You’re not supposed to tease _me_.”

“Yes I am.” He smiled warmly. “Seriously though, I can’t remember the last time I saw you so genuinely happy before all of this. Well, no, that’s not entire true. It’s not that you weren’t happy. It just wasn’t like _this_. And I didn’t know Keith, but it’s super easy to see how good you are for him.” He put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Just be careful, okay? I know you’re our Pack Leader now, but I’m still going to protect you too.”

Lance stopped and blinked at him. His brow furrowed, and he took a couple steps back into the kitchen and set down the box. He stared at it for a moment before turning around the face Hunk again. “Sit.”

“Lance—“  
  
“Sit!”

Hunk sighed and sat down on one of the chairs, Lance seating himself right beside him.  
  
“Alright,” Lance said, narrowing his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about? _You’re_ our Pack Leader. Not me. I didn’t challenge you or anything – actually I’m too busy for the same reasons we didn’t fight over it the first time. And you know, I’m pretty sure I’m good doing what I’m doing – holy shit not like that…but also yeah kind of like that – anyway, not the point. What gives?”

Hunk looked down and stared at the metal floor. “Well, you remember what happened back in that explosion and how those chemicals screwed up my reproductive system?” Lance grimaced at that, and Hunk quickly added, “Better me than you.”

Lance wanted to protest this, but selfishly, he _was_ glad that it wasn’t him. Did that make him a bad person? Maybe. He was going to keep it to himself just in case. “I don’t understand what this has to do with you being Pack Leader though.”

“Well, I mean, that kind of makes me a broken Alpha, right?” Hunk said, his voice going quiet as he looked down at his fingers, pressing them against one another. “Broken Alphas can’t be Pack Leaders.”

“What the fuck?” Lance whispered more to himself than anything else. He straightened his spine, put both of his hands on Hunk’s shoulders, and shook him slightly. “So what you’re saying is that this whole time, the ability to knock up Keith or Pidge is what made you worry about all of us? It’s what made you do extra rounds to make sure we were asleep? It’s what made you insist that we eat and rest when we need to? It’s what made you care about us?”

Hunk’s face turned bright red. “No! Of course not!”

“Then I don’t see the problem.” Lance crossed his arms in front of him and raised an eyebrow. “You’re an awesome Pack Leader because you _care_ so much about all of us. You go out of your way to make us happy and see us smile, and you think of the small things to make sure we’re okay. Literally no one here would say ‘ew Hunk can’t get someone pregnant that makes him a bad person’.” His expression softened. “I mean, on a personal level it must really, really suck. But it’s not the end of the world, right? If you wanted a kid someday, you could adopt. Your sister did that, right?” A sly smirk appeared on his face. “Might even work in your favour, because I’m pretty sure Humans and Balmerans aren’t genetically compatible. So there’s no confusion there.”

“Lance!” Hunk squeaked, his face turning red.  
  
“I’m just saying. Galra got them crazy survival, blend-with-everything genes, but humans do not.” Lance once again placed ah and on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Seriously, you’re our Pack Leader no matter what.”

Hunk smiled, though it was wavering. He blinked his watering eyes and mumbled, “Thank you, Lance.”

“C’mere.” Lance tugged Hunk forward, hugging him tightly.

Hunk squeezed him back, sniffling a bit. He pulled back, forcing a playful smile onto his face. “Now don’t you have an Omega to deal with?”

“Yup,” Lance said happily as he stood. He grinned at Hunk. “And we must almost be at the Balmera, so I’m sure that you’ve got a cute Balmeran to meet, don’t you? I’ll have to put in a good word with her!”

Hunk’s cheeks burned and he shoved Lance towards the door. “ _You_ will be too busy with your Omega.”

“I can send a message with Allura.”  
  
“Allura is going to be keeping Pidge company,” Hunk replied. “She promised me she would so I can visit Shay.” He must have seen Lance’s silly, dramatic grin, shoving him gently. “Just go.”

Lance scooped up his box of supplies, wiggling his eyebrows dramatically at Hunk one last time before hurrying off.

…

Keith was nervous. He eyed his nest warily, wanting to rip it apart again (for the third time) because it wasn’t _good_ enough. His Alpha was coming and it needed to be perfect. He would probably shoot himself out of an airlock if Lance rejected the nest (and maybe toss the Alpha out if he made fun of it). It needed to be better than last time.

The Keith that embraced his heat was apparently as dramatic as Lance was normally. Fuck him.

Well…yes…that was the point of all this but…right. Nest.

He flopped into the nest, already tired and antsy. Keith didn’t get it. Lance had slept in his nest with him from time to time during his last heat (at least until it got too unbearable to Keith to have him there).  
  
Of course, Keith also wanted Lance to mark him, so there was that.

He’d thought about their earlier conversation as he rearranged the nest while lying in it, and there was really no reason to wait. Both of them were stubbornly insisting that nothing was going to change. In fact, it would be better for Lance, since it meant that Pidge’s scent wouldn’t cause him to be as protectively aggressive as it did before. He would only react to Keith, and Keith would only react to him.

It was a nice thought, and that’s why his nest had to be perfect, even though he just suddenly didn’t have the energy to fix it anymore.

There was a knock on the door, and Keith knew that it was Lance based on his smell alone. He twisted onto his side as the Alpha peaked into the room, a small chirp escaping his lips. That sound alone allowed Lance to know that he was welcome, so he flounced in, the door sliding shut behind him.

“Hey there handsome,” Lance said with a wink, setting the box that he was carrying onto the floor. “Right, so I’ve got plenty to eat and drink, and Allura’s is going to be chilling with Pidge. We’re in friendly territory so there should be no problems. Hey, this is kind of like a vacation!”

“Some vacation,” Keith said while rolling his eyes.

An almost predatory smirk rose up on Lance’s lips as he leaned closer to him, causing Keith to lean back slightly so he could still see him. “Vacations are all about having fun and feeling good, and trust me, I’m going to make sure both of those things happen.”

Keith was pretty sure that his entire face, up to the tips of his ears and into the roots of his hair, was bright red now. He shifted uncomfortably, and Lance looked very proud of himself as he reached forward, hand going around Keith’s waist as he yanked him close.

The Omega was so distracted by Lance’s breath against his neck that it didn’t even occur to him that the other man was examining the nest that he had made until he started speaking. “That looks comfy as hell, Babe. It’s literally the best nest I’ve ever seen and I thought Mamá’s were on point. You win. I’m so lucky I get to join you.”

Keith’s hand balled into a fist, grabbing at the front of Lance’s shirt. He looked towards him, trying to keep the fact that he was already partially gone hidden. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “What did you do to deserve to come into my nest?”

It was a dumb question, Lance had done more than enough, but he still wanted to tease him.

 “I provided for you and gave you my heart,” Lance replied dramatically, throwing his arms out before wrapping them around the Omega again. “What else could I do? Is it commitment? Cause I am committed, Babe!”

“Commitment, huh?” Keith tilted his head. “Prove it.”

Lance instantly latched onto the challenge in his voice, leaning forward so that their faces were close. “Oh, and how am I going to do that, huh?” He leaned down, brushing his nose against Keith’s scent glad. “Jesus, you smell so good.”

Keith closed his eyes, trying to keep it together at the sensation, but basically falling apart at the seams. One of his hands ran up Lance’s chest and over his shoulder, fingers grazing against the Alpha’s scent gland.

Lance tensed up, no doubt suddenly understanding what Keith was trying to portray. “You want to bond with me, now?” He leaned back so that they were face to face, noses brushing against one another. “You sure? I know we said we wanted to but I don’t want you to think that you have to _now_. I’ll still be here later. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”  
  
“You don’t want to?”

“Jesus, yes I want to,” Lance said, his voice strained as he leaned into Keith’s neck again, lips moving against his skin as he spoke. “I want to more than anything. Just…are _you_ sure? This is permanent. One and done.”

“Yes.” Keith really didn’t have a long speech in mind. He probably could have thought of something, but the only things his mind were supplying him with was the fact that he wanted Lance bite him and fuck him. He didn’t care what order it happened in.

It was _incredibly_ eloquent.

“Okay, yup, this is happening.” Lance paused. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

That snapped Keith out of his own mind, and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing loudly. He laughed so hard that his diaphragm ached horribly and there were tears at the corners of his eyes. What a mood killer. Lance seemed to be trying to get his attention, but every time Keith made eye contact, he started laughing again. It wasn’t even that funny.

“You’re ridiculous,” the Alpha said with a huff.

Keith chuckled and looked up at him, sheer genuine happiness overpowering all of those heat-based instincts and thoughts. “And you’re a dork. Now get in the nest and bite me.”

This time Lance started laughing. “Holy shit, you have a way with words. Really suave. I feel completely wooed.” He reached down and pulled Keith up into his arms before taking a few steps and stumbling into the nest. It bounced under them, and Keith snorted with laughter again. Lance pouted down at him. “Good thing I love you.”

“I tolerate you,” Keith replied, chuckling a bit as Lance whined against his neck again. “You sound like an Omega.”

Lance pulled back again, a sly smirk on his face that took Keith’s breath away. “Oh you’re going to be making louder sounds than that when I’m done with you.”  
  
Oh hell. Keith was so absolutely gone for this Alpha that it wasn’t even funny. Staring up at him through his lashes, he said, “Show me.”

The Alpha curled over him, but not before both of their shirts were tossed aside. It always felt better without that anyway. Lance pressed his lips to his gland and then said, “I think I’ll start here.”

Keith nodded his head, hands trailing up Lance’s back.  “Yeah.”

He closed his eyes, fingers curling into Lance’s back as the Alpha bit down.

…

There were many interesting places across the universe. Of course there were so many strange and scary things that it usually made Hunk pretty wary. He didn’t feel like that around the Balmerans.

They were such a peaceful, insightful, easy-going people. He felt like he could sit and talk to them for hours. That was just the Balmerans he didn’t know. He felt like he could talk to Shay endlessly.

Hunk’s brown eyes watched a tiny Balmeran child run around wildly. He didn’t remember seeing children that small here the first time they had come, and it warmed his heart to see proof that they were actually helping people.

Though it was also proof that they had been gone for Earth a lot longer than it seemed.

A familiar earthy scent hit him, causing him to turn. Shay smiled at him as she approached. Everything about her scent was so calm, stable, and subtle. Nothing really about the sweet smells that followed Pidge and Keith around, or the intense smells of Lance and himself, really caught the Alpha’s attention. Shay’s on the other hand wasn’t so extreme, and he really liked it.

“I’m so glad you came back,” Shay said warmly. “Our people always love visits from Voltron.” She frowned. “Though I admit, it _is_ a bit strange that you are the only one here. Not that it’s a bad thing. Where are the others?”

Oh geez, Hunk hadn’t thought that anyone would actually ask about the others. Curse Shay and her caring nature. Well, not really. He adored that about her. “Humans have…uh…well…a…mating cycle and that means that the others can’t be here now.”

“I’m not sure I understand, though I am quite curious about humans.”

Okay, they were doing this. Hunk could deal. It was probably good practice anyway. Shay would never judge his embarrassment, and honestly what really was there to be embarrassed about.

“How about we have a seat?” Hunk suggested, motioning to the smooth, flat crystals on the ground.

Shay eagerly sat with him, genuine curiosity in her eyes. It warmed his heart that she wanted to more about what he was.

“So humans are categorized in certain ways. There are Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, and it’s all based on the ability to have pups – babies. Betas, like Shiro, are sterile – they can’t have any. Alphas and Omegas have babies together. So every three months the Omegas become pretty weak and tired because their biology _wants_ them to conceive, but they might not. That’s what Keith and Pidge are, and it’s why they’re not here. Alphas are the ones who get the Omegas pregnant, like Lance.” He didn’t mention that he was an Alpha too.

Shay tilted her head and thought about it for a moment. “So…Lance is having babies with Pidge and Keith?”

“Oh my god no!” Hunk waved his hands in the air, torn between laughter and horror. “No, no. Pidge doesn’t feel that way about anyone, but she still goes into heat – the time when she _could_ have a pup – because all Omegas do, mate or not.”

“Oh!” Her eyes lit up excitedly. “So Lance and Keith are the ones having a baby!”

He did laugh this time. “No! Well, I mean, they _could_. But they’re trying not to.”

“Why not?” Shay clapped her hands together. “There’s nothing more amazing than being blessed with a child!” She seemed to realize something. “And you never mentioned what you were.”

Hunk smiled at her warmly before frowning a bit. “I’m an Alpha, like Lance. Something happened recently though, so I’m sterile like a Beta now.” He shook his head. “Not that it matters. We’re all kind of busy fighting the Galra, and trying to save the universe, you know?” He lowered his voice. “We already lost Shiro. We can’t have Keith out of the fight too.”

“I am sorry, Hunk,” Shay said in a light tone. “I don’t quite understand though how that ability can be taken from someone, or why others don’t have it.” She tilted her head. “Or why Keith would be out of the fight. I am sorry that it was taken from you though.”

That question puzzled Hunk for a moment. He stared at her with curious eyes, before it hit him. Balmerans must have a completely different form of reproduction than humans.

He cleared his throat. “Uh…human babies grow inside of Omegas. They have specific organs made specifically for that and the Alpha has organs that help fertilize an Omega’s egg – combine their DNA. Not big eggs, they’re microscopic. But yeah, baby grows inside for nine…well nine earth months. About 40 movements. Takes a lot out of the Omega, and they’re pretty vulnerable. Then after, human babies are pretty week and fragile, and need to be around their mother and father. Keith wouldn’t be able to fight with us.”

Shay’s eyes were wide. “That’s fascinated! It must be _amazing_ to feel a new life actually grow inside of you! Keith and Pidge are so lucky to be able to experience that some day!”

Raising an eyebrow, he said, “I get the feeling that’s not how it works here?”

She shook her head. “No.” She pressed a hand down to the surface of the Balmera. “There are certain ceremonial caverns deep inside of the Balmera with very specific types of crystals. A bonded pair – whenever they choose after their bonding - goes down together and search for the perfect crystal – my parents say that you’ll know when you find it. The bonded pair puts a drop of their blood, and puts a little bit of their own quintessence into the crystal, and places it in a special part of the Balmera. The Balmera uses this to create a unique Balmeran.”

“Woah,” Hunk breathed out. “That’s amazing!”

His mind couldn’t help but think that, maybe, if mixed blood was accepted by the Balmera, maybe someday he _could_ have a baby of his own. The thought made him flush a bit, but he decided not to draw attention to it. There was a universe to save for now, but, as he gazed at Shay, Hunk couldn’t help but think that maybe someday he’d look into it.

He was curious about something else though. “How does bonding work with Balmerans anyway?”

Shay stood up and motioned for him to follow her. She led him through the homes that were now on the top side of the Balmeran, made of rock and crystal. She stopped and motioned towards a pair not far from them. “That is Rav and Len. They are in the process of bonding. It takes place over a long period of time where certain gifts are exchanged. The first is just to declare that you like to bond with someone, the rest as you get to know them. The final one is a crystal that the pair gets blessed by the Balmera together.”

“Wow,” Hunk breathed in awe. There were bits and pieces that were similar to what he was used to, but it was still unique to them. He loved this part about meeting different aliens. Their cultures were so vast and wide.

Though it wasn’t lost on him that they had yet to find a planet or people with as many different cultures, customs, languages and differences as back on Earth. He didn’t quite know what to make of them.

Shay smiled at him, though it seemed almost shy. “There have even been pairs where one is not Balmeran that have been accepted by the Balmera before.”

“Really?” Hunk asked, his breath hitching slightly.

“Yes.” Her eyes lit up. “The Balmera is accepting of all who respect them and their people.”

“That’s amazing.” The thought made Hunk feel oddly giddy.

Shay guided him around, showing everything that they had been working on since the last time that they had seen one another. It was amazing to see just how much life had improved for the Balmerans once they were free and flourishing.  
  
Even their food was improving, and Hunk had loved it last time. Shay’s mother had even showed him how to create this delicious form of rock candy that he couldn’t wait to make for the others.

His time to go back to the castle came much sooner than he expected it to. It honestly made him a little sad. He liked the Balmera and the people there.  
  
Shay accompanied him back to the Yellow Lion, and he couldn’t help but notice that she seemed a bit more reserved than before.

He tilted his head slightly. “Are you okay?”

Shay jumped but then smiled at him. “Yes. Thank you.” She fiddled with something in her hands. “Hunk, I was wondering, if perhaps, if you’d like to, would you accept this gift from me?”

Hunk looked down at her hands to see a simple woven necklace that reminded him of something his sister made when they were younger, tiny glowing gems dotting it like beads. “It’s amazing! You didn’t have to.”

“I—it’s to make my intensions clear.”  
  
Well, she certainly wasn’t making anything clear at all. Hunk was about to voice this when suddenly he remembered something.

_“The first is just to declare that you like to bond with someone.”_

His face heated rapidly, and he slowly reached forward, accepting the necklace from her hand. “I—I understand Shay. And I—I accept it.”  
  
Her face lit up excitedly, and she clapped her hands together. “I am so happy!” 

Hunk suddenly frowned. “I don’t—have anything…” He trailed off and then reached up to his head, yanking off his orange headband. He could have the castle make him something different to hold his hair back with. “It’s not much, but I’d like you to have this.”

Somehow, that seemed to excited her even more. She reverently held the headband as if it were a precious jewel, and Hunk got the feeling that he had done something absolutely right.

…

Pidge laid face down on the floor of her messy room, not even bothering with her nest at the moment. Keith had insisted that she take the softest sheets (aside from the specific blanket Lance gave him – he was possessive over that), something she was grateful for, but she was still so warm.  
  
At least she wasn’t out of her mind wanting to get laid yet. Hopefully the fact that she wasn’t interested in anyone would influence that, since she knew that girls did nothing for Keith.

There was a knock at her door. “Pidge?” Allura’s voice called through it. “Are you alright? I told Hunk that I’d check in on you while he was visiting Shay.”

“You can come in,” Pidge called out to her, staying face-down.

Allura walked into the room and Pidge heard her pause before asking, “What are you doing on the floor?”  
  
“Dying,” Pidge answered immediately. A part of her thought that maybe she should put some more clothes than her underwear and sports bra, but then she remembered how hot everything felt and decided to forget that. It was just Allura.

“…Do you need a pod?” Allura asked slowly and unsurely.

“After what happened to Keith when we put _him_ in a pod during his heat?” Pidge said, staring up at Allura with wide eyes. “It made it worse and last longer. So no thanks.” She shook her head. “It’s just so hot, and things hurt.”

“Hmm.” Allura hummed and placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling it away quickly. “I apologize for touching you without your permission, but goodness, you are warm.”  
  
“It’s alright,” Pidge said with a shrug. “I trust you, so we’re okay.” Even after all this time of knowing her, it was still nice to see Allura’s brilliant smile when someone treated her as a friend, not as a Princess in command of a rebellion.

“Oh!” Allura clapped her hands together, scrambling off of the floor. “I have an idea. I’ll be back in just in a tick!” She almost stumbled out of the door, which was honestly startling, since everything Allura did was normally so graceful.

The Princess’ quarters were farther away from all of theirs – a bigger suite – but she got back quickly enough, still smiling broadly, a rather rough-looking blanket in her hands.

Pidge was instantly wary of it. Most fabrics felt bad to her sensitive skin, and this looked like burlap and not at all like the soft ones that she had given Keith (who had given them to her). Allura caught her apprehension, and smiled calmly. “Trust me?”

Worst case scenario it was scratchy as hell and made Pidge miserable for the rest of the day. What could go wrong? “Sure.”

Allura set the blanket on her, and played with a tiny dial in the corner of it. Pidge initially winced at the rough fabric against her heated skin, but then she felt it.

The blanket was actually cooling her down.

“My father got it for me when we were visiting a planet with an incredibly hot climate,” Allura explained. “The natives of the planet made it. Everything they made was from this type of fabric, but I figured you could put a sheet or something under it if you liked it?”

“Allura, you’ve been holding out on us,” Pidge said, smiling brightly and curling up like a cat. “This is the best thing ever. You’re not a Space Princess, you’re a Space Goddess.” She paused. “But you’re probably right, I do need a sheet. Think you can grab one from my nest?”

“Oh? I was told that touching an Omega’s nest was a bad thing. Especially when they’re in heat. Shiro said…” Allura trailed off, brow furrowing.

Something pulled painfully inside of Pidge at the thought of their lost leader. She missed him a lot. Sure, Keith was doing a better job now after his very rough start, but that didn’t change how important Shiro himself had been to them. It didn’t matter if he came back and wanted to retire and hide in a blanket fort in the lounge with a bottle of food goo (he had mentioned wanting to do that during one of their late night sugar feasts once). Pidge just wanted him back.

Pidge shrugged those thoughts off, focusing on the here and now, rather than the people who were still missing. “You have my permission. Just take one of the looser ones at the top.”

Allura shifted to her feet, and found the perfect sheet for Pidge to use. Soon the Omega was curled up like a nice, cool, burrito.

“Thanks, Allura,” she said with a smile. “You’re the best.”

“You’re welcome, Pidge,” she returned the smile. “You know, I was always curious about how your bodies could handle heat like that without causing brain damage.”

Now cool and comfortable, Pidge was able to focus better. “Evolution. Probably.”

“Probably?”

“No one knows much about how we evolved into this, though we do have a couple vague records that suggest that people weren’t always this way,” Pidge explained, looking up at her. “See, there was a period of time that we know as the Dark Ages. It’s call that because we have next to _nothing_ from that period of time. And it’s a _huge_ gap to be missing in our history. We know nothing about what humans did then. It’s fascinating and a bit horrifying to know that parts of our history can just vanish and be gone forever. I’m getting off topic.”

Pidge shook her head to focus better. “Anyway, scientists have kind of pieced together that humans were different in the past, but something happened that almost wiped them out, and we evolved from the survivors. They think that maybe our population got so low, and so many people were sterile, that heats slowly came into existence to prompt a population boost.” She frowned. “It’s really confusing and frustrating, honestly. Be glad that Alteans didn’t have to worry about this.”

Allura shifted, making herself comfortable against one of the piles of something in Pidge’s room, smiling and petting the pink space caterpillar that floated up to her (Pidge knew that she liked them…Allura was a sucker for fluffy things).

If she was in her right mind, the Omega might have been a bit embarrassed that there was a Princess sitting on her very messy floor with her. Then again, it was just Allura, who was technically the same age as Keith, and technically just as much of a mess as the rest of them. She didn’t seem all that bothered by it anyway. “Honestly? I’m quite glad I don’t have to deal with that.” Pidge snorted at her honesty. “Hmm…if you’d like I could tell you a bit about Altea?”

Pidge perked up. Normally when Hunk was with her, he’d keep her busy by playing games, watching movies, talking about building robots, or telling her stories. She found that she didn’t suffer much when her mind was busy with something. “I think I’d like that.”

It was interesting, and oddly sad, to listen to Allura talk about her home world, and her family. It was amazing to know that Allura had grown up traveling around in this very castle for the most part, but Altea had always been her home. It also never occurred to Pidge that Allura might have had friends in the past, and she couldn’t imagine waking up from her sleep to find out that her family and all the other Paladins were dead.

“…So I was very nervous about my father finding me when I made myself look as I do now. I made myself look very much like my mother, something she thought was quite funny. Though later on, I was worried it would hurt him.” She frowned.

Pidge hesitated before saying, “You never talk about your mother much.” She had honestly forgotten that Alteans could alter their appearances, and it had never occurred to her that Allura might not have originally looked like…well…Allura.

“My mother was amazing. She was as much a warrior as my father, and was an amazing archer. They met when she saved him, actually. They loved each other, but they had duties too, especially as Zarkon became more and more unstable. I tended to travel with my father more, wanting to see the universe.” Allura frowned. “She passed when I was a little younger than you are. We don’t know whether it was sickness, or if someone took her life from her.” A far-away look appeared in her eyes that she quickly shrugged off. “You know, I was born with a rounder face than this, and my eyes slightly different, but I am very used to looking like this now, and I like it. I don’t think I’d ever want to change what I look like permanently. I originally did it to feel closer to my mother, since she stayed on Altea and I travelled to learn more about the universe, she said it’d make me a better leader, and I do not regret that.” 

“Then why would you ever change yourself?” Pidge asked, eyes flashing. “Who cares if it makes you look like your mother? You have good reasons for it, and even if it was just because she was pretty and you _wanted_ to look that way, why does it matter? You’re allowed to be whoever you want to be, right? That’s what you all told me!”

Allura was taken back at first, but then smiled at her warmly. “You’re absolutely right, Pidge. No one can tell us who we should be!”

Pidge nodded her head in agreement, and they moved onto the next topic (of how much a nerd her brother was). She liked this a lot, and would have to make more time to sit and talk with Allura.

…

Lance couldn’t help but stare at Keith as he slept, his still damp hair almost covering his eyes. The Alpha gently brushed the bangs away, fingers dancing gently against his overheated skin, causing the Omega to shift slightly before settling.

He inhaled, Keith’s scent overwhelming everything else. It was one that he had loved from the first time he smelled it, but the twist of peacefulness and contentment, along with the added smell of an Omega in heat, was absolutely mind blowing. It drove Lance crazy in more ways that he ever expected it would. He didn’t regret that though.

His blue eyes glanced towards the base of Keith’s neck, a smirk rising across his lips as he took in the deep bite mark that marred the once smooth skin. A shift of his shoulders prompted an aching pain from his own neck, but it only excited him. Things were going to be different for now on.

They were mates now, after all. Not rivals, acquaintances, friends, courting, or boyfriends. They were each other’s mate.

Lance kind of wished Clara was there so he could shove it in his sister’s face that he had bonded with the most amazing Omega ever, since she had always teased him about how he was going to be alone forever. He was going to show off Keith so badly when they got back home.

That made him think about what would happen. His parents would probably send them off to get a legal marriage license, and then have one of the giant parties that they loved so much. His Papá and Mamá, along with his Abuelo and Abuela, would start ‘hinting’ (aka being very vocal) about them having pups and when it was going to happen.

They’d move somewhere warm, in a house that was all their own. It’d have to be somewhere private, he couldn’t imagine Keith liking a big, loud city, or being next door to any of his family that would barge in without knocking. Someone would probably end up getting knifed.

There was still plenty of time to think about that though. For now, the only this that mattered was that they were mates. Their bodies were physically, emotionally, mentally, sexually, and chemically aligned to one another.  
  
It would be physically impossible for another Omega to send Lance into a rut, just as it would be impossible for another Alpha to influence Keith at all. They could only impact one-another that way. Lance wasn’t quite sure how the science behind it worked (studying human biology had never been his thing), but he was grateful for it.

Lance legitimately couldn’t remember ever being this happy before. It made him want to gather his mate into his arms and dance around the room. Keith seemed so peaceful as he slept though, that Lance knew he couldn’t do that. Also, pulling an Omega in heat out of their nest without permission was a no-no. He got the feeling that Keith’s Marmora blade was hidden around here somewhere.

Keith didn’t move at all as Lance ran his hands along the smooth skin of his sides. He was honestly a little jealous at how soft Keith’s skin was, but he knew that it had to do with the fact that he was an Omega.  
  
Lance’s hands ran along his stomach, snickering a bit as the muscles tensed under his hand before relaxing. He’d be lying if he said that he _hadn’t_ thought of Keith with his abdomen distended, his pups growing healthy and strong in him. He grew up in a big family, and he wanted a big family of his own.

He knew that part of Keith’s apprehension lied with the fact that he thought he’d be a terrible parent. Lance didn’t think so though. He _knew_ without a doubt that Keith would fall in love with any baby that he might one day carry, and he would do everything in his power to keep them healthy and safe. The Omega might not have actually _seen_ how proper families work, but he knew what they didn’t look like, and he was overwhelmingly loyal and protective of the family that he did gain.

Yes, Lance knew that Keith would one day be an amazing mother, if he wanted to, of course.

He froze for a moment. There was a _slight_ possibility that they could end up with a pup on the way by the end of the week. Hell, there was a one percent chance that one was going to start growing inside of him from tonight.

The thought made something primal and warm rush through him. Keith, amazing, stubborn, fierce Keith could actually end up carrying _his_ child. He knew it wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon, and he knew it was better if it didn’t, but just the thought sent his heart racing.

Lance did want that, he really did (in the future, not now; he wasn’t sure his heart could take worrying about his Omega being pregnant in a war while being the head of Voltron), but he was also equally certain that if Keith said no, he’d almost be happy with just his mate.

Keith shifted in Lance’s arms, eyes blinking open lightly. He yawned and nuzzled his face into Lance’s chest, falling back asleep again. Lance smiled warmly and brushed his lips over the mating marks. Yes, no matter what, this was good enough for him. Anything else in the future was just an added bonus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you explain away Allura looking EXACTLY like her mother? She's a shapeshifter and did it on purpose! (No, I do not expect that to happen, but let me have my own headcanons). I also still have theories that white hair has something to do with magic and quintessence (Haggar's hair turning white, Lotor's white hair despite neither parent having that colour naturally, Shiro's floof, both of Allura's parents having it), but that is a completely different thing. 
> 
> Also, I know we have canon names for Lance's siblings now, and his father doesn't seem to be in the picture, but I started writing this before S5 so I'm just going to stick with what I have for now. It is AU after all. 
> 
> We shall let headcanons live as headcanons, and not push them as canon on anyone else!


	11. Bonding Moments

Lance couldn’t stop himself from smiling broadly. He was whistling to himself as he stuffed everything that needed to be cleaned into the laundry chute. It was really an amazing thing that he did not understand at all. All he knew was that it took the clothes, and then shot out the clean ones already nicely folded about an hour later.

Actually, everything kind of felt amazing to him right now. He was a new man! A changed man! Life was great!

He looked over his shoulder as the door in the bathroom slid open and Keith stumbled out, towel-drying his hair. Lance made a noise of distress, catching the Omega’s attention. “What?”  
  
“You’re not supposed to dry your hair like that! Don’t rub it! Just wrap it up and leave it!”

Keith stared at him dryly before vigorously rubbing his hair and then tossing the towel at Lance. The Alpha spluttered a bit and pulled the towel off of his head, laughing at the mess of Keith’s hair. He tossed the towel into the laundry dispenser and moved close to his mate (his mate!), reaching up to his hair. “You’re a mess.”

He didn’t seem at all insulted, instead leaning into the touch a bit, but saying, “And you really smell.”  
  
“Now whose fault is that?” Lance wiggled his eyebrows, laughing as Keith scoffed. He hugged the Omega close, a purr rumbling through him.

Keith leaned into him and said, “Go get a shower. You smell like heat-me, and it’s gross.”

“It really isn’t,” Lance insisted, but decided to have a shower anyway. The scent he could deal with, but he really did want to have a shower. He pressed his lips to Keith’s forehead before hurrying by him and to the bathroom where he had put his own products at the beginning of Keith’s heat, figuring it was probably better than going back and forth between the two rooms.

He sighed happily as the warm water (not too hot – that would harm his skin) rained down on him. He stretched out a bit, appreciating his alone time. Yeah, he loved Keith to pieces, but they had spent nearly an entire week together in a small nest, only leaving for bathroom or shower breaks, or when Lance had to leave for more food or water. Some alone-time was a good thing.

Drying himself off, he looked into the mirror, twisting around slightly to try and see the back of his neck. A giddy feeling rose up in him as he caught a glimpse of the bite mark that marred his scent gland. The skin around it was still a bit tender, but for the most part, it had healed. It wasn’t exactly a pretty mark, it looked more like a couple on top of one another, but that was fine.

He had a mate. Seriously, if he found out that they could send a single message back home, his would be ‘I’m alive and I have the hottest Omega ever as my mate’.

Something twisted inside of Lance. The other Paladins along with Allura and Coran were his family, his pack, but now he legitimately had family here in space. Keith was _actually_ his family, his mate.

He kind of wanted to sing that to everyone. He wanted to introduce himself to aliens as ‘I’m the Red Paladin and the Black one? The hot one?  That’s my mate. Mine. He’s mine’.

Keith would _beat_ him for it. It’d be great. (So sue him, Lance apparently had a thing for strength.)

He looked at himself in the mirror again and frowned. He’d have to get his skincare routine back on track. He couldn’t let his skin get flaky or dry. He loved Keith, loved the fact that his skin was naturally soft, but hell if he wasn’t jealous of it and felt the urge to try and meet or beat him when it came to skin softness. They would always be a little competitive. It was fine. 

He grabbed two towels, a bigger one to go around his waist, and a smaller one to wrap around his hair so it would properly dry. Then he went ahead with his post-shower routine to get himself back to normal.

Once he was finished, Lance flounced out of the room, ready to strike a pose, only to realize that Keith wasn’t there. He pouted a bit, but then noticed a pile of his clothes on the bed.

A soft smile spread across his face. Keith must have gone to his room to get him fresh clothes. Hopefully the Omega had gone to get something to eat before he’d no doubt run off for some training or exercise. He was predictable that way.

Lance leisurely tugged on his clothes, loving the feeling of being so clean and fresh. Yeah, there was something very intimate about heats and how you basically saw your partner at their worst, and he intended on doing it over and over again, but he still preferred soap smells over sweat.

He made his way out of the room, not even bother trying to hide the skip in his step. Peering into the kitchen, Lance couldn’t help but scowl a little bit when he saw that Keith _wasn’t_ there. Sure, his mate might have eaten something quickly before hurrying to the training deck, but he had his doubts.

Whatever, he’d let it go for now. No need to nag as long as it didn’t become a habit.

He settled into the room, gathering some food goo and sitting at the table. He really missed his Mamá’s cooking, though when Hunk got his hands on actual food, he could make some pretty amazing things.

Lance jumped as the kitchen door flew open. Pidge stumbled in, blinking a bit before saying, “You’re alive.”

The Alpha laughed at her. “Keith didn’t kill me yet. How are you feeling?”

Pidge meandered around the room, grabbing her own bowl to get some food. “I’m fine. Gotta bleed for a couple days now.”

Lance snorted loudly, almost choking on his food goo. “Jesus, Pidge.”

“Keith is lucky. He doesn’t have to deal with this nonsense. I mean, I guess the trade-off is that there’s always the chance you could knock him up but yeah.” She looked at him with interest as she approached the table. “Where is your emo-half anyway?”

Lance mouthed the words ‘emo-half’ as Pidge walked behind him to go to the seat beside him. She squeaked loudly and then slammed her bowl onto the table. He twisted around to stare at her, but Pidge practically jumped onto his back. “What the quiznak?!”

“ _That_ is a bite mark!” Pidge exclaimed, her voice high as she stared at the back of his neck. She then scooted back into her chair and stared at him with wide eyes. “Or a maul-mark, I guess.”

A silly grin spread across Lance’s face, and he said, “Keith finally got pulled in my all my irresistible charms.”

“That poor, innocent child,” Pidge said with a dramatic sigh. “He must be protected from you at all costs.”

“Excuse me?” Lance looked at her, mock offense crossing his features. “Let it be known that I’m the innocent child. I was a pure soul until our resident emo bad boy corrupted me.”  
  
They both stared at one another before bursting into laughter. Pidge had to take her glasses off to wipe away her tears as her shoulders shook.

“Really though,” she said after managing to calm down, “it’s super exciting! You guys are mates now! Does Hunk know? Does Allura? Does Coran?”

Lance shrugged his shoulders. “Unless Keith said something, you’re the first to know.” He was pretty sure Keith wouldn’t have said anything to anyone yet. He was a bit shyer about things like this.

Pidge chirped excitedly. “I can’t believe my two loser friends finally figured out all the bullshit you were dancing around. I am _so_ pumped I no longer have to deal with your ridiculous flirting.”  
  
“I’ve been a one-man man for a while now, Pidge,” Lance said, as if talking to his niece and nephew when he caught them getting into the cookie jar and not inviting him. “But if you think the flirting ends just because we’re mates, you’ve got another thing coming.” He _thrived_ on Keith’s reactions to pick-up lines and general flirtations, when the Omega caught on to them, of course.

Pidge groaned. “Shit.”

“Another GAC into the swear jar, Pidgey.” It had started as a joke in honour of Shiro, putting a GAC in a jar everyone someone swore so he could be horrified by how full it was when he got back.

It was a good thing no one was counting what was said during heats, or Lance and Keith would be in debt to the swear jar. He could only _imagine_ Shiro’s reaction to _that_.

Lance’s smile faded a bit as he thought about that. “Hey, what do you think Shiro would think?”

Her expression softened slightly. She bit her lip, as if trying to figure out how to properly word what she wanted to say. “I think that Shiro would be really happy for both of you. You _know_ he approved, because god you guys can be annoying as shit – yeah I know swear jar - but you’re great together.”

“I hope so.” Lance smiled at the thought. “I know his opinion means a lot to Keith.”

“If you’re worried about Keith regretting it if Shiro disapproves, don’t,” Pidge spoke sternly. “He decided to bond with you now instead of waiting until we found Shiro. Doesn’t that say a lot?”

“It really, really does.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re going to find him Pidge. We’re going to find him, your brother, and your father. Then we’re going to kick Galra ass!”

She inhaled sharply and then nodded her head. “Yeah. We will! We’ll kick their asses and then go back home! You’ll be able to brag to your family about finding a mate in _space_.”

Lance felt his heart swell at the thought. He couldn’t stop himself from happily laughing and hugging her. Yes, there were still a lot of bad things happening, but there was a lot of good too and that was what he wanted to focus on. “I have a mate, Pidge! A mate!”

She laughed and patted his back encouragingly.

…

“Alright you’ve almost got it…that’s great Allura! Now hold the pose!” Hunk nodded encouragingly to the Altean as she managed to stretch out into the same pose that he was in.

“Humans certainly come up with the strangest pastimes like this…yoga.”

Hunk laughed loudly. “I know! It’s great isn’t it! Here, try this one.” He switched positions, making sure he did it slowly so that she could see exactly how he did it.

“Yes, yes it is,” she agreed, once again matching him perfectly. “How did you learn?”

“My older sister is a yoga instructor, though she learned it from Tama who taught us both too,” Hunk explained. “She took to it more than I did though.”

Allura hummed thoughtfully. “It’s quite relaxing for stretching. I can see why you enjoy it. And your family sounds delightful. I do hope that perhaps one day I could meet them.”

“I’d like that.” He frowned and got out of position, instead sitting on the floor and stretching his legs out in front of him. As if sensing the shift in his mood, Allura sat down facing him. “Earth isn’t exactly friendly to people from outer-space. They wouldn’t listen to Shiro and actually tied him up and stuff.” He paused, hand reaching up and fiddling with the necklace he had been wearing all week. “I guess I’m going to have to pick between that one of these days.”

“Shay gave you that, did she not??” Allura asked, eyeing the necklace.

“Yeah.” It occurred to Hunk that the Alteans had relationships with the Balmerans going back to the time when Altea actually existed. “You know what it means?”

“I do. I also noticed you have new headband.” She nodded towards the yellow one that he had synthesized.

“Yeah.” He felt his cheeks burn a bit. “I gave it to. She seemed really excited about it.”

“Of course.” Allura smiled brightly. “Giving something that you personally use regularly and value speaks a lot to the Balmerans, especially during their courting process…which normally lasts for several deca-phoebs. Though if Earth doesn’t really accept those from other planets, I see the issue.”

Hunk snorted. “Humans hate one another over every little difference anyway, so meeting another intelligent species…ones that are far more advanced? Yeah, they wouldn’t like that. Humans like to think we’re the best of the best.” He shrugged. “People are judgemental. They wouldn’t like how independent Keith and Pidge are, or how non-aggressive Lance and I are. Not to mention me being an infertile Alpha would probably get me shunned by most.”

It was obvious that the Princess was affronted for him. She seemed to struggle for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. “Well…” Allura trailed off before her face brightened. “You certainly adapt to more environments than most – outside of shape-shifting species of course. It’s why most species tend to stick to certain environments on planets rather than spreading out more.” She made a face. “And you seem to be able to eat the most questionable things…like the corrosive aniba plant.”  
  
Hunk laughed, remembering that. If she was trying to cheer him up, it was working. “Pineapples. And pineapples are delicious.” He had been so shocked to find a plant that was also the exact same. The colour and taste were just slightly off, but the rest of the properties were the same.

“Yes, but it can eat your flesh,” Allura said, repeating the argument she and Coran had with the Paladins when they found it.

“Not if I eat it first,” Hunk replied simply.

She laughed cheerfully, instantly making Hunk feel better. Allura smiled at him. “Humans are strange, but those are you that are here are certainly wonderful.”

…

The castle had been oddly silent for the past week. So when Coran caught the sound of metal clashing, he was instantly curious. He followed the sound to the training deck, where he looked in just in time to see the Gladiator fall to pieces and for Keith to stumble back onto the ground.

He jumped into the room without hesitation. “Keith! Are you alright?”

“Huh?” Keith looked up at him from the floor, sweat lining his forehead. “Yeah. Just a little out of practice after a week. I’m okay though.” As if to prove his point, he sprung to his feet. “How’s everyone else?”

Coran eyed him for any injuries, but was satisfied that he was telling the truth this time. “Everyone’s in tip-top shape! Though I have yet to see Lance.”

The softness of Keith’s smile instantly caught his attention. The Black Paladin nodded slightly and said, “He’s fine.”

Coran couldn’t remember a time when he sounded so sweet about something. “Ah, now what’s that smile about?”

Keith’s cheeks flushed pink. “Oh, well, humans we have this thing where we kind of…mark one-another as mates and yeah…we decided to do that.”

Coran perked up, instantly catching onto the meaning and importance to Keith’s words. “Goodness! Congratulations! That’s quite a big thing, is it not?” Keith nodded shyly. “We will have to make something special for dinner tonight!”

It positively tickled the Altean that Keith could be so strong and sure of himself on the battlefield, but in moments like this, he seemed almost shy. “You don’t have to.” He paused for a moment, brow furrowing. “Though Lance might like that. He mentioned that his family back at home would have had a huge party. It’s not my thing but…” He trailed off and shrugged.

Coran smiled warmly at the young man. “You want to make your mate happy.”  
  
“I guess. I mean, yeah, I do. I just…family and friends make him happy,” Keith admitted.

With a clap of his hands that seemed to echo through the room, Coran said, “Then we shall do just that! Have a wonderful surprise supper with everyone in the castle rather than just grabbing and going! I’m sure I can get the others on board.”

A slight smile crossed Keith’s features. “I think he’d like that.”

“Excellent.” Coran motioned towards the training bot. “Now, don’t push yourself too hard whilst training! Wouldn’t want to be too exhausted for later, right?”  
  
“Right,” Keith agreed almost hesitantly, like the idea of not training himself to the brink was odd. “And Coran? Thank you.”

The Altean smiled brightly as he walked back through the training room door, turning to look again as he heard Keith activate the next training level. His Paladins were growing up, and it was both saddening and beautiful to see.

A frown suddenly replaced his smile as he eyed the young man. He was so very happy for them, but at the same time, Coran couldn’t help but worry. He knew what tended to come after bonding, mating, marriage, claiming, or whatever anyone else called it if those involved had the ability to reproduce. He knew it wasn’t something that they wanted to strive for, but Lance’s medicine wasn’t perfect and Keith’s scans were rather worrisome.

They’d have to keep an eye on Keith in the upcoming weeks. Just in case.

…

When this whole thing had first started, Lance had been under the assumption that Keith would not be into any huge forms of PDA. He had been correct in that fact, but he hadn’t taken into account that physical intimacy did not necessarily equal PDA.

He figured out pretty quickly that Keith responded well to physical touch. He had been a little strange about it at first, almost jumpy, but seemed to settle quickly enough. Keith likes hugs and cuddling, he liked just being able to press close to his side even if they weren’t holding one another, and he seemed perfectly content with holding hands. Though he always seemed to roll his eyes once Lance started swinging them back and forth. Whatever. He could deal with it.

“Okay,” Lance said to his mate, swinging their hands back and forth in wide arcs. “I’m all for long, romantic walks through empty metal hallways, but we’re going in circles.”

Keith shot him an annoyed look. “No we’re not.”

A familiar flicker of competitiveness flared in him. “We totally are.”  
  
“Nope.”

He used their intertwined hands to point at the wall. “We walked by that gash twice now.” It was probably left over from when the castle had been attacked.

Keith floundered a bit, clearly not knowing what to say. Finally, he huffed then said, “Sorry for wanting to spend time with you outside of a bedroom.”

Lance instantly felt bad, leaning forward and saying, “Aww, don’t be pouty.” Keith, in fact, pouted even more in response to that. “Keith. Babe. Dude. My man. Don’t do that.”

“Do…what?” He looked at him oddly.  
  
Oh hell, he wasn’t even doing that on purpose? “So cute.” He tried to kiss him, but Keith evaded him like a pro. Not cool at all. “Keith!”

“You know what? I’m hungry.” Keith nodded down the hall and started heading towards the kitchen, tugging Lance along with him. “Let’s go get some food.”

“Uh…okay?” Lance had asked only 15 minutes ago if Keith was hungry or not, and he said no. What a weirdo. It really wasn’t like him to even announce something like that. Then again, it wasn’t like him to want to walk aimlessly around the castle

Unless, of course, he was up to something. “You’re up to something.”

Keith stared at him blankly. “No?

Oh. The impassive face. Lance had found it the hardest thing to read back in the Garrison and when they first came into face. Now he knew exactly what it meant. “You _are_.”

Keith turned to face him, no doubt to argue. Lance crowded in closer to him, and he took a step back towards the kitchen door. They stared at one another before Lance dived at him. Keith jerked to the side quickly, and Lance went flying through the kitchen door.

He ended up slamming into Pidge, who cried out in surprise and ended up tossing a bowl of food into the air. It soared up in slow motion, and then careened back down onto them, the mashed potato-like thing coating both of them. The bowl then fell neatly onto Lance’s head.

Everything was silent for a moment before Keith burst into laughter. He was clearly trying to hide it, but was definitely unsuccessful. That seemed to set Hunk off, which in turn set Allura and Coran off. Great, everyone was here.

Lance pushed the bowl off of the top of his head and glared at Keith, who just laughed harder. Pidge shifted beside him, glaring hotly at him and said, “Well congratulations, doofus.”

“Huh?” The next thing Lance knew, he was lifted off of the ground and into Hunk’s arms, having the life squeezed out of him in one of the best ways ever.

“I am so happy for you!” Hunk cried out, swinging him back and forth.

“Huh?” Lance looked at all of the food on the table that actually looked like normal food. Well, no, it didn’t look like _Earth_ food, but it wasn’t goo, so there was that. “What’s that for?”  
  
“We thought it’d be a great idea to have a congratulatory dinner,” Allura said, sounding rather excited.  
  
Lance blinked and then swung around to look back at Keith. “You knew!”

He shrugged. “It was Coran’s idea.”

A part of Lance kind of wanted to cry. In space, this was as close as he got to family (which they were), and as close as he was going to get to a party celebrating the fact that he had a mate.

Though, wait. Everyone was smiling at _him_ , like this was something that he alone had done. Keith hovered at the edge of the group, slightly behind them, looking rather content. That wasn’t good though. This wasn’t just about him. It was about _them_.

He reached out, grabbing Keith’s arm and dragging him closer as he smiled at everyone else, “You didn’t have to! But thank you!”

The food looked amazing, though it really was touch and go. Allura and Coran looked both horrified and amazed that they were really willing to try anything.  It started when Keith ate this strange blue meat that could apparently intoxicate an Altean, but he just said it was kind of spicy, though it was Pidge who absolutely terrified them by eating a ‘space-pizza’ (as Lance called it) completely with ‘space-pineapple’ and ‘space-mushroom’. She said it was disgusting, but she was trying to prove a point.

When everyone else was distracted, Pidge leaned close to Keith, using her spork to move his hair away from the base of his neck.  
  
“What are you doing?” Keith asked her, scooting away and eyeing her suspiciously.

“You know, your mark looks super clean. A planned bite and then done.” She noted, not feeling bad about looking. It was actually pretty common for people to show off their marks.  “But the one you gave Lance looks like you tried to maul him.”

Keith almost sunk down in his seat, his cheeks turning red. “I—I was a bit…distracted.” She burst into laughter, and he scowled. “Shut up, Pidge.”

“Sorry, sorry.” She waved her hand at him cheerfully. She looked at him curiously. “So, I’m a bit curious…what does it feel like? To have a mate? And not in the nasty way.”

He stared at her thoughtfully, and looked over towards Lance, who seemed to be having some kind of eating contest with Hunk. He huffed a bit, before looking at Pidge. “He’s ridiculous.”

“Noted.”

“Right, but…I always thought that it wouldn’t feel any different, that people who said it did were just…”  
  
“Pushing more stereotypes on you?” she finished for him.

Keith nodded his head, still gazing at Lance. “It does feel different though. It’s nice.” He blushed again. “Sorry. I just…” He shrugged, unable to properly say what he wanted to say.

“Aww,” Pidge cooed, overlooking his awkwardness. “You love him.”

His lips twitched, trying to hide a smile. The way he looked at Lance made her statement undeniable. Still, he shook his head slightly and said, “Shut it.”

Pidge laughed at him again. “We all know you do.”

His smile finally showed, and he said, “Yeah, I do.”

At one point, Coran decided that it was an appropriate event to introduce them to what they realized was essentially Altean wine.

It was immediately very bitter, but left a sweet aftertaste that wasn’t bad. It was certainly better than whatever it was that nasty drink they had before was. The more Keith drank of this new one, the less he remembered about that first drink, or anything else really.

“…Then he almost passed out when he realized that it was the Princess of Altea that saved him!” Allura said, her eyes wide with excitement, cheeks flushed a vibrant magenta. She waved her arms around and almost spilled her drink, but Coran managed to grab a hold of it.

“Alfor was immediately taken with the Princess!” Coran agreed with a nod of his head. “When I met up with him later, he looked at me and said ‘Coran, I am going to _marry_ her’. Naturally, I thought he had hit his head a little too hard. It was Princess Fala, after all.” Coran went to have another drink and realized that the bottle was empty. “Hmm, I’ll be back in just a tick.” He got up, no doubt going off in search of more to drink.

“Hey, speaking of hooking up,” Pidge said from where she laid sprawled on the floor. “Question!”

“Answer!” Lance replied, leaning over Keith so that he could peer down at her.

Pidge blinked slowly at him and said, “I’ll end you.”

Lance snickered a bit and rolled over so that he was staring up at Keith while laying on his lap. “Hey there. Come here often?”

Keith rolled his eyes.

“Hey, hey! My question!” Pidge said, flailing around like she was trying to make a snow angel.

“Ask your question, Pidge,” Hunk prompted her.

“Thank you. So, like, male Omegas have a vagina, but they also usually have some kind of dick too, so like, do they ever bang their Alphas? And do female Alphas let people bang them?”

Hunk spat his drink out, and Allura burst into laughter, though what she was laughing at was undetermined. Hunk stared at the little Omega in horror. “Pidge!”  
  
“Well why wouldn’t they?” Allura asked, her big eyes looking around at them. “It’s supposed to feel good, right?”

“Some people think that you should only do that to…you know…have kids,” Hunk explained. “Not for other reasons.”  
  
The Altean Princess raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. “That’s stupid.”

Whatever Lance was expecting, it wasn’t that. He started laughing, and Hunk looked terribly amused now.

“See!” Pidge cried out. “Allura knows what’s up! Come on, someone must have an idea.”

“Can confirm. It’s not nearly as fun, but not terrible,” Lance said with a wave of his hand.

Keith’s face turned so Red that it matched his jacket. “Lance!”

“What?” He blinked up at his mate. “It’s true.”

Keith hid his face in his hands, while Hunk snickered.

“Fascinating,” Allura whispered, prompting most of them to laugh. Keith slumped down a little more in his seat.

Pidge looked properly disgusted. “I did not need to know that.”

“You literally asked!” Lance protested. “So I answered from experience.”  
  
“Stop talking,” Keith hissed, glaring at him from between his fingers.

“Why? She-Keith!” Lance shrieked the last word as the Omega pushed him off of his lap and onto the floor.

“I’m going to go smother myself,” Keith muttered more to himself than anything else.

“Don’t make me a widow already!”

They stared at one another for a moment. Then Keith tried to jump up to escape, but Lance launched himself at his legs, knocking him to the floor as Coran came back into the room.

The Altean looked at everyone, red faced for many different reasons, and laughing hysterically.  He looked at the bottle in his hands and put it behind his back. “I think you’ve all had quite enough.”

…

Feeling giddy and happier than he had in a long time, Lance practically pounced on Keith before he could retreat into his room. The Omega put on a show of struggling a bit, but they both knew that if he really wanted to get away, he could easily toss Lance over his shoulder. He had done it during training before.

“I’m still mad at you,” Keith informed him.

“No you’re not.” Lance nuzzled his face into his hair.

“Yes I am. I can’t believe you said that!”  
  
“Aww come on, don’t be like that. They’re our pack, and Pidge asked! We have to educate the young, Keith! I knew the answer from experience! That’s better than letting Pidge believe false information given to her my the alphiarchy!”

“Well you’re not getting any _experience_ from me again.” Keith took a few steps towards his door, dragging Lance with him, since the Alpha wouldn’t let go.

The thing about Alpha, Beta, or Omega instincts was that they tended to be able to push beyond other frames of mind and conditions. Lance’s alcohol-infused mind didn’t stand a chance when he caught a genuinely distressed smell coming from his mate. His grip on him loosened, and he stepped back, actually looking at Keith’s face.

The Omega had his arms crossed, his brow furrowed, and his lips twisted into a scowl. Oh, oh he was actually bothered by this. Good job, Lance, he thought, you managed to piss off your mate the first time you were with your pack as mates.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t think…” Of course he should have realized that Keith wouldn’t be comfortable talking about that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you make you upset. Talking like that doesn’t bother me and I just kept going. I’m sorry.”

Keith’s shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. “It’s _not_ that big a deal. It’s not. I just…I don’t like sharing that type of thing with people. It feels wrong.” He looked down, his hand reaching out to fiddle with Lance’s fingers. “It’s something that’s just ours, or should be.”

Lance intertwined their fingers and tugged him close, leaning his forehead against his mate’s. “Well, shit. I really _am_ sorry. I won’t do it again.” He looked at the doors to their rooms and said, “I know most mates share a bed and room, but, uh, if you want space to get away from me for a bit, that’s fine. It’s cool.”

Keith stared at him through hooded eyes. His scowl at gone now, and he seemed more relaxed. “Your room.”

“Huh?”  
  
“We can sleep in your room and use mine as a storage room. Keep it clean in case we need another room,” Keith clarified. He stared at him for a moment. “I sleep better when you’re with me anyway.

Lance smiled warmly at him. “Sounds good. Let’s get your blanket and go to my room.”  
  
They kept their hands clasped tightly as they grabbed the blanket that Lance had given him and moved back to the Alpha’s room. Lance tossed it onto the bed and yanked Keith so that they were facing one-another again. .” Lance stayed silent, knowing that it would prompt the other man to say something like nothing else would. Finally, he looked up and said, “What?”

Moving one hand behind his head and one to his waist, Lance kissed Keith, unintentionally dipping him just slightly. They broke apart almost hesitantly.

“What was that for?” Keith asked, breathless.

“You just…” Lance trialed off and looked at him adoringly. “How did I get you?”  
  
“Huh?”

He let Keith stand up straight, but didn’t let go of him. “Coran told me, you know? That you wanted to have the party because I’d like it because of my family, even if you don’t like parties. And I fucked up and you just forgave me like nothing.”

Keith shrugged. “You miss them a lot and I…well…we’re family now, right? You just…deserve to be happy. You made a mistake, but you apologized and you meant it. I know I have…anger issues at times, but not over things like this.”

Lance was melting. This man was going to be the death of him. RIP in pieces here lies Lance Charles Díaz-McClain. Death by hotm part-alien mate’s cuteness.

“Oh man. I’m going to have to step up my game! Bring out more pick-up lines.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” Keith said almost a little too quickly.

“You love my pick-up lines.”

“No I don’t.” That was a direct challenge, and Lance was absolutely going to rise to it.

“Do you have a map?”  
  
“What?” Keith stared at him like he completely lost his mind.

Lance leaned in closer, keeping eye-contact with him as he said, “Cause I keep getting lost in your eyes.”

Keith’s face turned Red and his breath hitched. Lance laughed as the Omega hid his face on Lance’s shoulder.”

“Hey Keith?” He made a sound but didn’t move to look up. “Even if there wasn’t gravity on Earth, I’d still fall for you.” Lance laughed at the muffled, distinctly Omega whine that came from his mate. It was a blessing that he got a mate that reacted to cheesy pick-up lines that way. “Don’t worry, Baby. Your ninja-sharpshooter’s here for you.”

Keith suddenly pushed away from him, meeting his gaze. His cheeks were still pink, but there was a determined look that never wavered. “Yeah, you must be a ninja.” Lance blinked in surprise. “Because you snuck into my heart.”

Did he just? Lance felt his fate heat up. Keith’s eyebrow quirked and moved so that their chests were pressed against one another. “Your eyes are blue, like the ocean, and I’m lost at sea.”

Lance whined a sound that should not come from Alphas, and Keith grinned at him smugly, raising an eyebrow. “So you can give it but not take it, huh?”

“I can’t believe,” the Alpha spluttered out before suddenly picking him up and tossing him onto the bed, jumping beside him and then flopping half of his body over his. “I’m supposed to be the suave, cool, romantic one that woos you.”

Keith snorted and rolled out from under him. “You stayed with me during my heat. That’s enough.”

“Uh, no.” He shook his head. “I 100% enjoyed myself during that. Doesn’t count. You just wait, our next date, I’m going to sweep you off your feet!” He waved his hands in the air wildly.

“Lance…we’re mates…” Keith said slowly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“So? Doesn’t mean we’re not going on dates anymore. Just because I got you doesn’t mean you’re free of my wooing! Can’t let the romance die before we even get the chance to go on some amazing Earth-dates!”

Keith was trying not to smile, that much was obvious. His scent screamed affection and fondness, and somehow, that was even more intoxicating than his heat scent. “Well, that might be fun.”  
  
“Stick with me and I will blow your mind in every way I can.”

“I planned on it.”

God, Lance loved Keith. Even though they definitely still had things to work out and learn about one another, he had absolutely no doubt in his mind that he had made the right decision to mate with him.

…

It took Keith a while to notice that everyone else was watching him like a hawk. He got used to eyes following him at the Garrison, and learned to ignore them. The only time it really mattered to him was when he was in a strange or dangerous environment, and being on the castle ship with his pack wasn’t that. Once he did clue-in, he couldn’t help but be a little put off and confused by it.

At first it made him a bit paranoid because, what had he done wrong?

Lance seemed completely oblivious. His ridiculous Alpha was still on a high from the fact that they had marked each other. They weren’t just courting or boyfriends, or anything like that. They were mates. It was a huge thing, and at first, Keith thought that was why Hunk, Pidge, Allura, and Coran were watching him. Honestly, his own excitement over that (just shown in different ways) probably added to why he hadn’t noticed it at first.

It only seemed to get worse as the days turned into weeks. Just yesterday, he had come to breakfast feeling more tired than normal (it was just one of those sleepless nights), and Hunk had nearly been beside himself double checking that Keith was okay. It really weirded him out.

He knew he wasn’t going to get anything out of Pidge or Allura, and Coran was an expert in changing the topic, but Hunk, bless his heart, was a terribly liar.

That was why he ended up in the kitchen long after everyone else had gone on to do other things. He knew that Hunk had spent the last little while installing the new scanning systems into Yellow for a test run, so he’d probably end up in the kitchen for some stress relief baking or something along those lines.

Keith went through the cupboards while he waited, honestly a little curious about what they had in there. He perked up at he caught Hunk’s scent approaching, but apparently the Alpha was too preoccupied in thought to notice that he was there.

Hunk yelped when he spied Keith, his warm brown eyes going wide. “Keith! What are you doing here? I mean, obviously if you’re in the kitchen you’re hungry but you ate earlier…so are you hungrier than normal? Is anything making you feel sick?”

What the ever living fuck? Hunk looked like he was about to have an anxiety attack, just like yesterday at breakfast. It was only a quick check on his scent that assured Keith that it wasn’t actually going to happen.

Keith narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“How are you feeling?” Hunk asked quickly, as if trying to cover over his earlier awkwardness.  
  
“I’m fine.”

“Okay. Okay that’s good. But, like, you’ll tell us if you start feeling sick or something, right? Or hungrier than normally. Basically anything different from normal. I mean, I know you and Lance are mates now – he honestly won’t shut up about it – not that’s it a bad thing, but you know how he gets, but yeah, we’re all here for you too.”

Keith stared at Hunk blankly to the point where the Alpha seemed uncomfortable under his gaze. Keith watched as his eyes glanced down at something and then back up a couple times. Confused, he followed Hunk’s gaze and realized it was aimed at his stomach. His first thought was that there was something on his shirt, but then everything clicked. Hunk’s questioning, and the borderline nervous stares from all the others.

Everyone was staring at him because they were wondering if he was _pregnant_.

His cheeks flushed. Keith _knew_ that it was a slight chance, that the 1% chance in the preventatives wouldn’t matter with his hybrid super-fertility (as Lance had dubbed it) that happened on his heats. He had been very confident though that it would be okay.

Everyone was freaking out for no reason. He didn’t feel pregnant. Not that he knew what that felt like. And sure, it might be too soon to actually have symptoms, but wouldn’t he _know_? He always heard about how Omegas just _knew_ because it was the best feeling ever. The knowledge that they had fulfilled their biological imperative or something like that. He didn’t feel anything.  
  
Of course that could all be complete and utter BS, like saying that pregnant Omegas had a ‘glow’ to them. That was an option.

Keith sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Come on.” Keith did _not_ want to get Lance for this, but if it helped Hunk calm down, he could stay.  
  
“Where are we going?”

“Med bay to get me scanned so everyone can stop walking on eggshells around me cause I’m not—“

“Hey do Galra have live babies, or do they lay eggs?”

“—Preg—Hunk, what the hell?” Keith stared at him with wide eyes.  
  
“I mean, they seem like what we’d call mammals, and you’re definitely one, but a platypus lays eggs too and aliens do things differently, like Balmeans grow their babies from crystals and—wait—did _you_ hatch from an egg?”  
  
“There are no eggs, Hunk!” Keith cried out.   
  
“Well, I mean, technically there’s always an egg, you got lots inside of you, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean, there could be. You don’t know. You should ask the Blade.”

“I am not asking them if they came from eggs.” Keith knew Hunk rambled when he was nervous, but he really wanted him to stop. He was _actually_ making Keith nervous about this.

They walked into the med bay, where, to their luck, Coran was finishing cleaning out a pod.

“What’s that about eggs?” the old Altean asked curiously.

“Do Galra lay eggs?” Hunk blurted out.

“They didn’t 10, 000 years ago,” Coran said, eyes darting to Keith with interest.

“I’m not pregnant,” he said, crossing his arms in front of him, ignoring the voice in the back of his mind telling him that he could be. “Can we do a scan to prove it?”  
  
“Absolutely! I have everything set up over here!” Apparently, Coran was waiting for this moment. “Please lay down on the bed here. It works best that way. And lift your shirt a bit.”

Keith rolled his eyes and did as the Altean asked. He was honestly interested in the machine though, and heard Hunk asking questions about it, especially when Coran put an iridescent sheet on his skin. It was silky and cool, and he kind of wanted to steal it for his next nest.

“This is made to get a good look at specific areas in the body,” Coran explained, looking at some kind of tablet on what Keith had thought was the actual machine beside him, but he guessed not. “It’s even more accurate than the tech in your suits, but you can understand why it’s not an option compared to the scans. Just wait a moment…”

Coran stared at the Altean words as a picture popped up a moment later. He narrowed his eyes at it before shaking his head. “You’re correct, Keith. You are absolutely child-free.” He sounded more than just a little relieved.

Hunk sighed beside him too, shoulders slumping. “Good. That’s great. I’ll tell Allura and Pidge, since they were worried too, if that’s okay with you?” Hunk looked at Keith.

“Go for it,” Keith said with a wave, trying to hide the bitterness in his voice. He passed Coran the sheet, fixed his shirt, and stood up.  Instead of relief, he just felt numb, and it had nothing to do with the results.  
  
Hunk and Coran were both so relieved that he wasn’t pregnant, and Allura and Pidge had been really worried about it too. Well, to be fair, he was glad that he wasn’t pregnant too, and logically, he knew that it was because the head of Voltron getting knocked up in the middle of a war was a really bad thing.  Still, a part of Keith couldn’t help but think that the reaction wouldn’t be quite the same if it were Pidge. It had to do with _him_.

He would have been a horrible parent anyway. He would have sucked so hard that Lance would have to take over and do everything, and promises or not, he would end up resenting Keith for that.

Keith felt sick as he thought back on his decision. He thought he had been in his right mind, that Lance had been, but clearly he was wrong. Holy shit, they had basically agreed ‘well if it happens it happens’ and it could _not_ happen. One percent chance that the preventatives wouldn’t work wasn’t very likely at all, but they didn’t _know_ if that applied to _his_ heats. Logically, there was no reason his heat would impact it, because it prevented the creation of sperm, but still. He wasn’t human, and there was no way to test if something in his pheromones might have affected Lance too.

God, he had been so _stupid_.

Everything felt like it was closing in around him, and Keith needed to get away from everything. He didn’t remember leaving the Med Bay, and the next thing he knew, he was in the Black Lion’s hanger.

That was odd. He had never tried to turn to Black for comfort. Not like with Red. Still, he found himself climbing into the lion, and going into the cockpit to sit.

Despite being inside of a smaller space, Keith felt better rather than claustrophobic. He felt like he had room to breathe, and realized that maybe it had to do with Black herself. She was the sky and space. She was something greater than all the others.

Red’s presence had been obvious when he was there. He was a burning inferno that reached out to him when he needed it most. Black was subtle, yet when you finally realized what they felt like, they were constant and unwavering.

He wrapped his arms around himself, leaning back on the seat. “I’m sorry, Black. I’m really trying to be the person Shiro thought he saw in me, but I know I keep falling short. You deserve someone better than me. I still don’t know why you picked me over Allura or Lance. Both of them would be amazing leaders.” He paused and sighed. “Do you see what Shiro saw? Cause I don’t get it. I’m…I’m made to be a loner.” He laughed bitterly. “It sucks. It all sucks because Shiro is gone and that’s terrible, but with Lance everything feels so much better and I know that…happiness isn’t going to last, and I’ve already got him saddled with me.”

He took a deep breath and started rubbing his thumb over his fingers, trying to center himself. He pressed his fingers in the corners of his eyes as they started to burn. How could he be a leader? How could he be a proper mate? How could he be a parent? He’d been alone for most of his life. He was going to do something that caused everyone to turn their backs and walk away from him. It would be so much easier if he wasn’t here.

Black grumbled in discontent. Keith opened his eyes and leaned forward, putting his hand on the controls. “No, you’re right. That won’t help Lance. That won’t help anyone. I—I’m not going anywhere. Not until we find Shiro. I promise. Then you’ll have him, Red will have Lance, and Blue will have Allura. I’ll try my best to keep them all alive until then, I promise.”

They grumbled again.

“I’m not going to leave Lance,” he assured them. He thought back to his own mother, and wondered if this is what she had felt like. “I’m not. I’ll just…step aside and let everyone else do what they need to do.”

Black still didn’t feel very happy, but they didn’t protest anymore.

He took that as a signal that he was making the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing to be clear about the lions here (can't remember if I said this or not before): Black – They/Them. Red – He/Him. Blue – She/Her. Green – She/Her. Yellow – He/Him.
> 
> This is part canonical, part made up. Pidge and Lance refer to their lions as female. The EP’s referred to Red as male. I figured it’d make sense for Yellow to be male too (balancing Voltron). Black is the head, and is a little different from the others, so here they are ‘they’ with no discerning gender (or combining all genders, it depends on how it’s interpreted). It’s all about balance! 
> 
> I really do like going through all the motions, don't I? Fluffiness, drunken inappropriate humour, angst...you don't have to pick! 
> 
> Also if you have any questions (maybe something's confusing, or you're just curious) don't hesitate to ask!


	12. Primitive Bugs

“You are aware that, no matter how much you stare at that holograph, the real Lotor is not going to magically combust, correct?” Allura couldn’t help but smile as Keith startled slightly. He had been glaring rather heatedly at the image they had of Lotor and all of his generals.

Keith cast a glance her way and said, “I just…can’t figure him out.” He sounded rather frustrated about that. “Why didn’t we hear about him before he randomly showed up? You think Zarkon having an heir would be a huge thing?”

“Perhaps. However, Galra are incredibly protective of their kits, as well as expecting Bearers. If Lotor existed back then, we might not have known. In theory, Zarkon _could_ have kept him alive in the same way he kept himself alive – or perhaps he was asleep too. I’m not sure.” She stared at Lotor, biting her lip before turning her attention to Keith. She had a theory about Lotor, based on what she knew from the past, but a part of her wanted to keep it to herself for the moment. “Though having an heir doesn’t particularly matter if you plan on living forever, does it?”

“That’s true. Why back then?” Keith asked. “Zarkon’s been around for 10,000 years. He must have hundreds of kids, grandkids, great-grandkids and everything else.”

“No,” Allura said. “I don’t think that would be possible.” Keith stared at her oddly. “Zarkon died. He came back to life at some point. I don’t know how. In theory, Lotor would have had to have been born.”

Keith stopped and stared at her, clearly trying to process this. “Zarkon’s a zombie,” he muttered.

“A…zombie?”

“Living dead.”  
  
“Oh. Well, I suppose he is.” Humans were so strange. Why did they even have a term for such a thing?

She watched as Keith pressed his fingers to the corners of his eyes. It was a motion she recognized Shiro doing when he was stressed. Suddenly though, his form began to sway a bit, and he ended up stumbling slightly. Allura gasped and reached out, putting her hands on his arms to steady him. “Are you alright?”

He waved his hand at her. “Yeah. Just tired. Stressed.”

“Perhaps you should go rest. Staring at Lotor isn’t very productive,” she pointed out.

Keith’s nostrils flared, and he looked like he was about to protest, but stopped. He squeezed his eyes shut before nodding. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll do that.”

Allura couldn’t help but worry. He looked so pale and tired. “Will you be alright to get back on your own? Is this your heat coming?”  
  
“No, I still have a month before that,” Keith assured just. “Just stress.” He nodded at her. “Thanks, Allura.”

She nodded her head and watched him go. A sigh escaped her lips and she swiped away the image of Lotor, replacing it with a star map. “Where are you, Shiro? We all need you.”

…

“Hey, hey Keith,” Lance said to him, nudging him gently.

Keith tried to ignore him as he read the holobook in front of him, but he was being persistent. He really just wanted to sit around and relax, but his mate wasn’t having it. Hunk and Pidge were working on some sort of machine on the couch opposite of them, not really paying attention to what they were doing.  
  
“What?” Keith finally gave in, though he made sure to sound very unhappy about it. If Lance wanted his attention, he could have cranky-Keith.

“The universe must revolve around you, because your gravitational forces are bangin’.”

Pidge snorted loudly, and Hunk apparently choked on the air or something, since he started coughing violently. Keith just stared at Lance blankly.

“No? Okay, okay. I think you might be a star, because I can’t stop orbiting around you!”

More laughter, and Keith sighed, standing up and making a show of leaving his holobook behind as he walked towards the door.

“Wait, Keith!” Lance cried out, sounding genuinely distressed. Keith wasn’t _actually_ annoyed with him, and turned to tell him that, only to be met with a sly smirk. “Are you into astronomy? Because your ass is out of this world.”

Pidge and Hunk were done. Both of them started laughing at the not even funny pick-up lines. Then again, perhaps it was the look on Keith’s face that did it for them. He felt his face pull like it did the last time he tried something particularly sour.

Keith was done in an entire other sense, turning and walking out of the room.

A part of Keith almost missed the time when Lance was a little more cautious in showing affection like that, but he also knew that the Red Paladin only did it because he was completely comfortable with him now. They were mates, after all. Ridiculous flirting wasn’t going to hurt.

The horrible truth was, though many times the pickup lines went right over his head (he’d never admit that out loud), but when he did catch them, they actually tended to work. What was worse was the fact that Lance knew that.

Sure enough, when he got to the door of his room, Lance’s scent overtook him as the Alpha swept in, wrapping his arms around him from behind. He must have taken one of the quicker routes.

Lance gently bit at his marked scent gland, causing him to shudder, before he pressed his lips against Keith’s ear “Hey boy, are you the sun? Because you’re the center of my universe.”

Okay, that one was just sweet. Keith felt his cheeks turning red, but he still huffed in feigned annoyance. “Space pickup lines, really?”

“You like space, but if you want I got other ones. You like knives too. How about I sheath my—“ Keith shut that down quickly by twisting around kissing him. That was an excellent way to get Lance to shut up, or so he had discovered.

“I knew they worked,” Lance muttered when they broke apart. He nuzzled his face against the sensitive gland at the back of Keith’s neck again, earning a quiet (embarrassing) mewl in return.  “You should just admit you like them.”

“They do not work.” They really did. Keith was starting to like moments like this more and more. It was nice to let someone else just take control. Just because he didn’t fit into the mold completely didn’t erase the fact that Keith was still an Omega. He found himself _liking_ the moments he could just curl up and let Lance take care of him. Maybe that had to do with the fact that he _had_ to be a leader now that he flew Black, he didn’t know. What he did know was that it was kind of terrifying.

“Sooo,” Lance drew out. “I was thinking—“  
  
“Terrible idea.”

“—You are an asshole. Anyway, I was thinking, you’ve been like, super tense lately. Like crazy tense. So we – you – could use some stress relief that doesn’t involve the training deck or flying.” He paused for dramatic effect. “You know what’s a good stress reliever?”

Keith blinked at him before Lance’s playful, suggestive grin made him realize what he was talking about. With a raised eyebrow and an exasperated sigh, he said, “Really Lance, really? You’re suggesting _sex_ as stress relief?” Of course he was.  Keith hadn’t really been feeling it over the past week, and going from a lot in the few weeks since his heat to none was probably driving the Alpha crazy. He respected Keith’s boundaries too much to complain though.  
  
“I didn’t say that.” He paused. “But yes. Plus cuddling and a warm bath later.”

Keith snorted with amusement. “I dunno…” He still wasn’t _really_ feeling it, but at the same time, he wasn’t opposed to it either. Bless Lance for actually asking, instead of just trying to jump on him and guilt him into it. Keith had no doubt that he could say no and Lance would respect that. “Alright.”  
  
“Way to make it sound like a chore,” Lance said with a sigh but then he laughed and pressed his lips to Keith’s forehead. “If you really don’t want to. We don’t have to. I’m down with cuddling too.”  
  
“I already said yes, and yes means yes as much as no means no,” Keith insisted, feeling almost incensed at being questioned. He was not some delicate little flower that needed to be coddled, thanks. 

 Lance laughed. “Never change.” He threw his arm around Keith’s shoulder. “Now let us go bang.”

“Holy shit, Lance!” Keith burst out laughing. “Way to be subtle.”

“Why be subtle? Everyone knows we’re mates and there’s no one else here! You knew what you signed up for.”

Keith rolled his eyes and tried to get out from under his arm. “I want a refund.”

“Ouch, my heart.” Lance put his free arm over his chest, the other one tugging Keith even closer. He winked at him playfully. “No returns, exchanges, or refunds. You’re stuck with me for life!”

“Ridiculous Alpha,” Keith muttered affectionately.

“I’m charming and you know it.”

The sad thing was, Keith did indeed know it, and he loved it.

…

Pidge’s sharp eyes caught onto the person that she was looking for. A quick sniff of the air told her that he was alone, which wasn’t that common these days. She took it as her chance to pounce.

“Keith!”

He jumped a bit as she launched herself onto the table he was sitting by, grinning at him broadly. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Yes?” His voice was _so_ skeptical that it was almost painful.

She crossed her legs, tapping her fingers on the table she was sitting on. “It’s been a while since we talked. You’ve been awfully busy, ya know? As the Black Paladin you hang around Allura and Coran a lot, and outside of that you’re almost always busy with Lance.” She grinned impishly. “Seriously, you can tell. You reek of him! And you walk funny.”

Keith’s cheeks turned pink and he looked like he wanted to hide somewhere. They stared at one another for a moment before he cleared his voice and said, “I know you want something.”

She pouted a bit. “Well, you’re definitely getting the dad-vibe down like Shiro had going on.” Except, that wasn’t right. Her brow pinched together. “Actually, you’d be the mom, wouldn’t you? As an Omega and all.” Her eyes went wide and she whispered, “Oh my god, that makes Shiro the Vodka Aunt.”

Keith was staring at her as if she had grown a second head. “What?”

“Never mind.” She held up her hands and shook her head. “So dear leader, how are you on this fine day? Night? Random period of time during our daily cycle?”  
  
“Pidge…” Keith said, narrowing his eyes at her.

She pouted a bit. “Okay fine. There’s an old Galra base nearby that doesn’t have a lot of security, and I want to know if we can go there so I can steal more info. I’m running out of leads on Matt and Dad, and who knows, I might be able to find more stuff on Shiro, right?”

He blinked at her. “Why are you asking me?”

Pidge paused and stared at him oddly. “Keith…my Omega buddy…you’re the leader of Voltron right now. You are the only one I need permission on to go down there and kick ass.”

That seemed to startle him. He bit his lip and tilted his head slightly. “Did you run this by Lance or Allura yet?”  
  
“You’re the team leader, not them.”

“Maybe.” Keith looked down. “But I still value their input, you know?” He shook his head. “Yeah, we’ll go.” She was about to cheer, but he interrupted her. “We need a plan though, so we’re running it by everyone else. Deal?”

“Sounds good to me.” Pidge smiled at him warmly. She knew that he was struggling with being a leader, but he was doing a better job than he thought, turning to others when he didn’t have answers rather than just charging forward like he had at first. She jumped off of the table. “Come on!”

He chuckled and stood up to follow her. It was nice to see him smiling again.

…

Lance was sprawled out on the floor, glaring at the screen in front of him as if it had insulted him on a personal level, and really, it kind of had. He couldn’t beat this stupid game and it made him want to toss the controller at the screen.

He was so bored. Hunk was working on something down in the engines, Coran and Allura had snuck into the kitchen while he was gone, and Keith was off with Pidge at some nearby abandoned base to access the computers there. That left him on his lonesome playing this game that he couldn’t beat.  
  
Screw this game, honestly.

“Lance,” Allura’s sweet voice called out to him from the door. He leaned back and looked up at her, noting that Coran was standing with her and that they were both staring at him with wide, innocent eyes.

“Yes?” he asked.

“We were wondering if you could aid us in acquiring milkshakes,” Allura said hopefully.  
  
“We’ve tried to ask Kalternecker, but he does not seem to understand,” Coran added.

Lance snorted and stood up, stretching out his body. “Alright, let’s go.” He led the way towards Kalternecker’s room that had endless amounts of grass and water for the cow, along with a shelter and an illusion sky. It was pretty amazing.

“Oh!” Allura gasped as his robe slid off of his back slightly. “Goodness, Lance, how did you get hurt?”

“What?” he cast a glance over his shoulder, eyeing her with confusion. Coran looked just as alarmed as she did.

“Right here, lad.” Coran pointed to the base of his neck, between his shoulders. “It looks almost like a bite mark! When did that happen? It looks older.”

Lance clued into what they were talking about, and laughed loudly. His shoulders shook, and he looked at them with a smile on his face. They never had explained how that worked to the Alteans, had they? He wondered how they showed that they were together with someone.

“You had that little party for me and Keith after we became mates! It’s called a bond mark, or a mating mark,” he said, unable to hide the pride blooming inside of him. He could still remember Theo and Clara joking that he was too goofy to attract a good Omega. The joke was on them, Keith was awesome. “When humans claim each other as mates, they bite one another’s scent glands. Dunno the science behind it, but it like syncs us up so that we only really react to one another’s scent and other things like that.” He shrugged. “That’s how it works.”  
  
“You’re saying Keith did that?” Allura asked, her eyes wide.

“Yup,” Lance said happily, popping the P. “I gave him one too.”

“How…primitive,” Coran noted.

Lance was almost insulted, but he didn’t quite care. The topic of Keith being his mate still made him giddy two months later. “How does it work on Altea?”

“Those who are interested in one another date for a little while, and then one asks the other to marry them. There are ceremonies that bind couples together officiated by a Mystic – it’s quite lovely and the Mystic binds their souls together followed by a large party. Prior to the ceremony, each person must forge a gift for one another. It’s the basis of their bond and can never be broken by accident.” Allura sighed wistfully. “It was always so romantic.”  
  
“Of course if a couple decided that they didn’t want to be together, there was magic to reverse the bond as well. They simply break the gift they were given,” Coran added. He eyed Lance’s bond mark. “Yours seems rather permanent.”  
  
“Well, yeah, it is.” Lance nodded. “Humans mate for life. I mean, I’ve heard of people finding someone else after their mate dies, but they can’t get the same kind of bond, you know?”  
  
“Primitive,” Coran whispered again.

Lance rolled his eyes slightly, but then he had a thought that made him smile broadly. If the Alteans thought _that_ was primitive, and they relied on synthetic food goo, wait until they saw where milk came from.

…

Would it have been rude to fall asleep during a meeting even though no one was paying attention to him? Probably, but Keith was finding it so hard to stay awake. He was exhausted, even though there was no reason for it.

Okay, that was a lie. He knew exactly why he felt this way.

Keith’s eyes turned towards Lance, who looked just as bored as he felt. He fought to keep his guilt down, not wanting anyone else to smell it on him. They’d probably just chalk it up to his stress over leading the group and trying to find Shiro.

Well, those things were true, but it was also turning him into an insomniac. There was little that could wake Lance up when he was sleeping, especially since he normally wore a mask over his eyes, and headphones over his ears (Keith thought it was strange at first but learned to live with it), so Keith took the opportunity to train late into the night.

Lance had warned him about training too much, making it his goal to keep Keith from passing out, as any good Alpha would. Keith also felt a little bad about that, since he was being a rather difficult Omega and that was stressing his Alpha out. They were _mates_ now, and he should be thinking about him more too.

It was hard when he had been alone for so long, but he was _trying_. He definitely shouldn’t feel so _smug_ about the fact that he kept getting away with his nightly escapades, but the feeling wouldn’t go away, like something inside of him was preening. Clearly he was just a little messed up in the head right now.

Keith broke out of his thoughts when he lurched slightly, but managed to catch himself before anyone noticed him almost nod off. He caught Pidge’s eye, and the other Omega looked like she was trying not to laugh at him. The jerk. His unimpressed look just made her shoulders shake more.

Well, at least he amused her a tiny bit. She had been so unimpressed that their info run to the Galra base had been useless with nothing new at all. Keith could absolutely understand her frustration.

Finally, the meeting was adjourned. Keith managed to keep completely calm as they headed back to the castleship, listening to Allura talk about some Altean specialty dish that she wanted to try to prepare for them herself. Just listening to her talk about it made his stomach growl a bit. He hadn’t been particularly hungry that morning, or any morning for the past little while actually. Now though he was practically ravenous.

Pidge fell into step with him. “You look dead tired,” she noted.

“I feel like it,” he admitted, figuring any denial would just make her pry more. “Those people really like to talk. I feel like I need at least an hour of quiet time.”

“And yet you let _Lance_ mark you.”

Keith laughed and Lance pouted from where he was walking with Hunk. “Excuse you, I am an excellent mate. In fact, I won’t even bother Keith’s quiet, alone time. I’m going to smash your game record instead.”

Pidge’s eyes lit up with a competitive fire. “I’d like to see you try.”

Sure enough, after getting back to their room and shedding their armour, Lance had given Keith a quick kiss before hurrying off, muttering something about whipping Pidge’s ass.  
  
He doubted that, but hey, it was amusing to watch.

Keith took the opportunity to go to flop onto the bed, practically curling up into a ball. He was just _so_ tired lately that it was nearly impossible to stay awake. Maybe the late night training sessions were a bad idea.

…

Hunk hummed a bit as he stared at the delicacy in front of him.  During his visit to the Balmera, Shay’s family had showed him how to make what was basically rock candy, and had given him the ingredients to make it.

He stared at the shimmering candy, plucking one up and popping it into his mouth. It tasted a little bit different, but it was still amazing and made his tongue and cheeks tingle.

He looked up as Lance came into the kitchen, and nearly pounced on him. “Lance! Try this!” He shoved a piece into his hands.

“It’s…a crystal,” Lance noted, eyeing it skeptically.

“It’s edible. Trust me.”  
  
“Shay’s got you eating minerals. You’re already whipped.” Lance popped it into his mouth.

“You’re one to talk,” Hunk muttered as he watched his friend process the flavour of the candy. “Good huh?

Lance’s entire face lit up. “Holy shit Hunk, these are _amazing_!” He grabbed another one to eat. “I want all of them.”

Hunk laughed happily. “Take some to share with Keith. I’m going to bring some down to Pidge too. We’re going to try and install our scanner into Yellow today to see if we can use it to find Shiro. Coran agreed to go down onto that empty moon to see if it can detect him.”

“That’s amazing!” Lance gushed, smelling so genuinely happy about this. His smile faded slightly. “Hopefully it’ll help Keith chill some too.”

“Well, yeah,” he replied. “We can have them going all the time, and if this works we can put them into all of the lions too.” He frowned. “Why, is something wrong?”

Lance paused and seemed to think carefully about what he wanted to say. “He hasn’t been feeling good lately.” He sighed. “Being the stubborn ass and trying to hide it though. Or at least seems to think that he can will it away. Stress is going to drive him loonie.”

“Not feeling good how?”  
  
“Okay he just seems really tired and I _know_ he’s overworking himself,” Lance admitted. “I think…I _think_ he’s been leaving at night to train more so, like, if you ever catch him at it, growl at him for me? Deserves a good scolding for that.”

“He’s probably as stressed as the rest of us,” Hunk noted. “Well, no, I take that back. As stressed as us plus the fact that he’s the Black Paladin and he’s still freaking out about Shiro more than anyone else.” He shook his head. “Give him candy if he stays in bed and rests? He might learn to stay there?”

“Did—did you just imply that I should _train_ Keith with treats? Like a pet?”

Hunk stared at him with wide eyes before he chuckled. “Well, I mean…there’s something to be said of reward-based learning, right?”

Lance snorted loudly. “I love you, you now that, right?”  
  
Hunk chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, love you too. Now I better go and present Pidge with this offering so she doesn’t eat my soul. I think she’s been awake for 48 varga at this point.”

“Wow. We all need some down time. We should definitely have another movie night,” Lance said. “Tell Pidge we’ll even let her pick.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Hunk agreed with a nod. “You deal with Keith and Allura, and I’ll deal with Pidge and Coran?”

“Done and done.” Lance practically bounced on the spot, swiping a little more candy. “See you guys later? After supper?”  
  
“Sounds good!” Hunk nodded, and watched his friend dart off. He laughed and shook his head before going to meet up with Pidge.

…

Coran stretched his arms out behind him as he walked into the lounge. All of the Paladins were sprawled out on the couches, though Pidge was bouncing excitedly. “Movie! Movie!”

“Hunk? My buddy. My bro. How much of that candy did you give her?” Lance asked as he looked around.

“Enough to keep her awake,” Hunk admitted sheepishly. “Which was the opposite of what I wanted.”  
  
“You played yourself,” Pidge told him.

“Well,” Allura leaned forward, “it was quite delicious.”

Coran moved over to them, settling in one of the empty spaces. No one acknowledge the empty space that Shiro normally would have sat in. “Hunk’s Balmearan Crystal Candy? Why yes, that was amazing! It almost tasted the same! It’s impossible to not like.”

“Tell that to cranky pants here,” Lance said, motioning towards Keith.

The young man in question was bundled up in a blanket, curled up at Lance’s side. He didn’t say anything, just grumbling and looking unimpressed.

“What?” Pidge leaned forward to look at him. “Keith you heathen! You love sweet stuff!

“Now feeling it right now.” He shrugged. “Maybe later.”

She scoffed and shifted farther away. “You keep your diseased, candy-hating self over there. If you’re getting sick, I want nothing to do with you.”

“I’m going to breathe on you,” Keith threatened, though he didn’t move from his spot. He closed his eyes for a moment, face twisting in a grimace. Lance rubbed his arm and Keith looked up at him, resting his forehead on his shoulder.

“Now, now, settle down,” Coran advised. “We’re watching a classic tonight! I think it’s similar to what Pidge calls sci-fi.” He started the film as everyone settled down.

“Oh!” Allura perked up. “I love this movie! I—“ Coran reached out and carefully put his hand over her mouth.

“I apologize, Princess. You tend to blurt out the ending of movies other things that you like.”

Allura looked affronted at first, but then smiled sheepishly, looking her age for once. “That’s fair.”

They all settled in to watch the movie, luckily with subtitles that were translated into English thanks to Pidge’s program. Well, as best as it could be. There were still some pretty hilarious mistakes. 

About half way through, Coran heard Lance whisper, “You okay?”

He looked around towards them, noting that Keith looked even paler than normal, if possible. The Omega pressed his knuckles to his mouth as he closed his eyes for a moment, and then nodded his head. He curled up closer to Lance.

Coran moved subtly as to not interrupt anyone else. Lance looked over at him curious, and he asked, “We could do a scan, if you’d like.”

“No,” Keith shook his head. “I’m fine. It’ll pass. Just need some sleep.”

Coran couldn’t help but notice the way Keith looked at his outstretched hand, shifting away from it like he didn’t want the Altean to touch him. He found this slightly odd, but then again, Keith wasn’t exactly the touchy-feely type of person anyway. The only one he seemed okay with touching him was Lance.

He decided to take him at his word. He wouldn’t get anything by pushing.  
  
Coran settled back in to watch the movie, but he couldn’t help but worry about his Paladins. 

…

Sometimes, when Keith was sitting inside of Black, he would swear that he felt Shiro. It was an odd experience that he never really tried to explain to others. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he had actually _felt_ Blue’s energy himself, so he might be able to do the same with others. It was something he didn’t understand at all, but there was so much else going on that he didn’t need anything else complicating his life.

Keith always got a sense of security around Shiro. He was someone that Keith could easily latch onto, someone that he could count on no matter what. He never truly felt judged or afraid around him. Yes, Shiro could be a mess at times (Keith vividly recalled the one time Shiro had sat on him for the last of the Nutella), but Keith could trust that whatever he did or decided was the right thing.

Black was vast and infinite, but at moments, they felt warm and familiar, just like Shiro. Maybe, just maybe, that meant that he was alive. Surely if Shiro was out there, his connection to Black was strong enough for them to still feel one another, and maybe Keith was getting the residual feeling for it.

Then again, Red was the only lion that actually seemed to respond to the connection he had with his Paladins and went to help them in times of need. For whatever reason.

Whatever the reason, it felt comforting, and made Keith feel relaxed enough that he actually nodded off while he was supposed to be flying. He jerked awake as they approached the atmosphere of the planet that they were traveling to.

“Wow,” Lance’s voice echoed through the comms. “This world looks like…” He trailed off, as if unsure how to describe it exactly.

“A giant trash heap?” Keith suggested, earning a snort in response.

“Now Keith,” Allura spoke up. “We must maintain our…” She kept talking, though Keith ended up tuning her out. This was a lecture he had gotten more and more since becoming the Black Paladin.

Reality was, it really _did_ look like a garbage dump from Earth, with piles of twisted metal and used things twisted into tall buildings. He didn’t understand how this world had some kind of powerful resource that the Galra were mining and they wanted to cut it off. They had done their research, and apparently they only showed up about once every six phoebs. As luck would have it the Galra were scheduled to arrive very soon, but they managed to get there first.

“It…actually looks like the air here is breathable,” Pidge spoke up, sounding rather surprised. “Actually, there’s even more oxygen here than on Earth.”

Despite this, none of them opted to take their helmets off after landing. They walked away from their lions, the barriers appearing around them.  
  
“I thought the scanners said this place was crawling with life?” Lance asked, looking rather confused.

“They did,” Pidge replied, brow furrowing as she projected a screen in front of her. “Hmm, let’s see here…”

Keith waited patiently, shifting a little bit. He still felt so tired and kind of just wanted to curl back up in Black. The team needed him though, and he was the leader.  
  
Hunk suddenly jumped looking around wildly. “Did you hear that? I totally heard it!”  
  
“No?” Allura asked, staring at him skeptically. She had the best hearing out of all of them, after all.

“Okay, but there was definitely something coming from over – there it is again!” Hunk spun around, bayard in his hand.

This time, Keith heard it too. A light clicking sound coming from beyond one of the trash heaps. A moment later, something came ambling out from behind it.

Pidge made a disgusted sound, and Lance breathed out, “Nope. Nope, nope, nope.”

“Is that a _giant termite_?” Hunk asked, his voice rising.

It certainly looked like a termite, though roughly about the size of them and with eyes. It also appeared to be wearing some kind of blanket around itself as clothing.

It stared at them with oddly expressive brown eyes. Keith put his hand to his head as pressure suddenly pressed on him, and he was overwhelmed with a series of impressions similar to what the lions did. It wasn’t hostile though. It was a curious presence.  
  
It also noted that _they_ didn’t seem dangerous.

“I think this might be how they communicate,” Allura noted before taking a step forward. “We are the Paladins of Voltron, and we’re here to help fight against the Galra.”

More thoughts hit them as the termite-creature stood up taller. It was interested. Galra were bad.

At least they were all on the same wavelength about _something_. A few more of the aliens appeared around them. Apparently this first one gave the word that they weren’t there to cause trouble.

Keith took a step forward and said, “What do they keep coming here for?”  
  
“We can help protect it if we know what it is,” Pidge added, coming up to his side.

The flood of emotions and impressions suddenly stopped. Keith blinked and realized that all of those brown eyes were focused on him and Pidge. Then, almost as if they were one large hive-mind, they looked towards Lance and Hunk.

Suspicion suddenly tinted all of their thoughts as they stared at the two Alphas, all but ignoring everyone else. They pushed forward a bit, moving around them.

Pidge stepped closer to Keith, who tensed up. Though he didn’t get the impression that these creatures were out to hurt them, the sudden act of aggression didn’t sit well with him.

Keith was about to speak up when a wave of dizziness hit him. He stumbled slightly, but Pidge caught his arm.

“You okay?” Lance asked, suddenly entirely focused on him. It wasn’t just him though. All of those beady brown eyes had once again trailed over to Keith. Lance didn’t seem to pay attention to that though, instead reaching over to place his hand on Keith’s arm.

Almost immediately, the termite-creatures went _insane_. They lashed out, shoving between Lance and Keith.

Keith stumbled backwards, still feeling a bit lightheaded. He reached for his bayard, but one of the creatures turned to him.  
  
Protection. No harm. Safe.

He didn’t believe that, feeling his bayard shift into a blade in his hand. He took a step forward and everything went black.

…

Pidge didn’t struggle nearly as much as she could have. As she should have. She didn’t want to do anything to get separated from Keith. She had no idea why he passed out, or where they were taking them, but the aliens kept giving her the impression of safety.

Oddly enough, she didn’t exactly feel safe being surrounded by a bunch of giant termites.

They were carrying them up what appeared to be very steep and narrow stairs that would have been impossible to climb with human limbs. Not to mention the entire thing looked like it was made from scrap metal and old parts of machines.

Pidge had to wonder where it all came from. Had there been some other race here that had destroyed itself? It would certainly explain the look of the place. Not to mention people always said that termites would be the only thing left if humans destroyed the world.  
  
Or was that cockroaches? She couldn’t remember. Bugs weren’t really her thing.

She looked up as a set of doors opened. The next thing she knew, she found herself being lowered into something very squishy and soft. Keith was deposited beside her, and Pidge quickly moved so that his head was resting in her lap as she looked around.

If the outside looked like a trash heap, the inside of whatever this was looked beautiful. It was still oddly strewn together, but was made from golds and strange pink metals.

One of the termite-people looked at her and projected a thought. Safe now. They then left, leaving them alone.

Pidge took in her surroundings, and tried to piece together the puzzle that had been put before her. These things had been fine with them until Keith had spoken up earlier, drawing attention to him. No, not just him. Her too. They had been oddly gentle with them, and despite being kidnapped, Pidge hadn’t feared physical harm while they were in transit.

They had been incredibly aggressive to Lance and Hunk though, and seemed impassive to Allura.

Keith suddenly groaned, shifting around. He blinked up at her, indigo eyes unfocused for a moment until he seemed to take in that they were in a completely different place from before. With shaky arms, he pushed himself up. “Where are we?” He looked down at the strangely textured cushions that they were on.

“The termite-things kidnapped us after you fainted,” Pidge explained. But that wasn’t right, was it? They had attacked just before that. In fact, it was almost as if Lance touching a sick Keith had set them off.

“What happened to you?” she asked Keith. His symptoms were completely independent from this mess, though at the same time, perhaps the cause of it.

“Just felt dizzy and tired,” he replied, and it was still odd how passive he was being at the moment. “Maybe heat symptoms are kicking in early?”

That actually _did_ make sense, since stress could stop heats, but it could also do the opposite and make them worse. She really hoped that wasn’t the case and he was just feeling under the weather.

Then the puzzle pieces fell together. “Oh! I know exactly why they took us!”

…

Lance was, simply put, pissed off. No, he was beyond that. He was a bundle of shaking rage that Hunk had to physically keep from storming back to the termite city guns blazing. It wasn’t like him, but no one could really blame him.

His _mate_ had been taken away from him, right in front of him. His sick mate. Not to mention they had taken Pidge too, and the fact that these bugs took their Omegas and had been aggressive with the Alphas didn’t sit well with anyone.

Allura insisted that they retreat back to their lions, where they could be safe. Seeing Black and Green had only set Lance off worse. Even more, Red was actively _encouraging_ his desire for immediate action.

Maybe all of Keith’s stupid stunts in the past weren’t entirely his fault.

“Perhaps they took Pidge and Keith _because_ they’re Omegas,” Allura suggested. “They all but ignored me, and they weren’t very fond of the two of you.”

“How would they have known?” Hunk asked from where he was literally sitting on top of a struggling Lance. He felt like his ribs were about to be crushed, but it was probably a good thing. If he was free, he’d probably impulsively do something that made everything worse. “They can’t smell us through our suits.”

Allura stared at him thoughtfully. “They appear to have powerful mental abilities. They could probably see it.”

“Okay, but why not separate you from us too? You’re technically able to carry a baby too, right? It’s really the only thing that they’d be able to pick out mentally,” Hunk wondered.

“Well, technically yes,” Allura answered, pressing her fingers together. “However, Alteans only become fertile when they are with a partner and choose for it to happen. I have no desire for such a thing. So it might have seemed like I’m not.”  
  
“But what do they want with them?” Hunk asked.

“Who cares?” Lance finally burst out, flailing a bit under Hunk. “We can’t leave them there! We need to go get them!” Red agreed with him wholeheartedly. Bless Red.

“These people need our help, Lance,” Allura said firmly. “We can’t go in…gun’s blazing!” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you’re worried about Keith. I understand that everything about your instincts and biology is probably screaming for you to get to him specifically. We need to think clearly though. We don’t know what this situation is.”

“They seemed really interested when we said we were here to stop the Galra,” Hunk pointed out. “Maybe if we take out the ships that are on their way here, it’ll be a good enough…offering?”

“That’s the best plan we’ve got right now,” Allura agreed before looking down at Lance. “What do you think?”

“Fine,” he replied, scooting out from under Hunk and breathing in. “So we just wait until they’re nearby and shoot them down with the lions? That’s it?”  
  
“Simple but effective,” Hunk pointed out. Lance couldn’t deny that he had a point, and the sooner they did this, the better.

He couldn’t stop himself from being worried. They didn’t need Voltron to take down the ship that came, one lion would have been enough, let alone three. During the entire skirmish, Lance kept thinking about what the termite-people might have been doing to Keith and Pidge. Not to mention, Keith passing out had nothing to do with the aliens on this planet. That was something else entirely.

When they landed again, there were more of the termite-people waiting for them. Instantly, an impression of thanks and happiness overtook them, none of the wariness that had been there before.

They were led towards what looked like a giant temple, and then lifted up to the top (there was no way that they could have climbed it). Lance felt his heart racing as the doors opened, and he braced himself for the worst. He braced himself for blood, gore, and heartache.

Instead he found Keith and Pidge sitting together on plush pillows with a plethora of food around them. “Huh?”

“Hey guys!” Pidge said with a wave as she ate a strange looking fruit.

Allura and Hunk both moved by Lance’s stunned form. Allura looked at them and frowned. “I…don’t understand.”  
  
“Apparently their version of Omegas are highly revered since there are so few,” Pidge explained. “We had the same wave-lengths or something going on with our minds. They just wanted to protect us from the Galra that were coming.” Pidge looked pointedly at Lance. “They also thought that you were going to hurt Keith.”

Lance turned his attention towards his mate, who actually seemed to have more colour back in his face. He took a few steps towards him, a bit wary of the termite-people around them, but Keith held out a hand, showing that it was okay to come forward.

“I got them to understand that you were my mate,” Keith explained as Lance sank down beside him. It was a really comfortable cushion. Keith scowled a bit and added, “The Galra were taking their eggs, crushing them down to use in different things.”

“That’s horrible,” Allura said, her face twisting. She turned her attention to one of the aliens closest to her, no doubt trying to portray her thoughts on the topic.

“This food’s all edible?” Hunk asked curiously as he approached them.

“Nothing’s killed us so far,” Pidge said with a shrug. “But they play favourites, so who knows. They like Keith more than me. They keep giving him more stuff.”

Lance looked at Keith, who just shrugged, clearly not understanding why. Maybe it was because he was a male Omega and his brainwaves were a bit different. Who knew?

A lot of the food was packed up in boxes for them. The termite-creatures seemed more than thankful for scaring away the Galra.

One of them came over and pat Pidge on the head. “Um, thank you?” It nodded and turned to Keith, perking up a little bit. It pat his stomach. “See, I told you they like him more.”  
  
“I think they just acknowledged how short you were,” Lance spoke up teasingly, slipping his hand into Keith’s. It was such a relief to know that he had simply been overreacting to the entire situation.

It was a bit scary to know just how intensely he wanted to protect Keith though, what he would do in a situation like that. It wasn’t in his own personality, but he was absolutely fight for Keith. It wasn’t even a question at this point.

Keith squeezed his hand tightly, as if understanding what he was going through. Then again, he probably did. Lance got the feeling that he’d fight the same way for him too.

…

Lance was already snoring away when Keith came out of the shower that night. It was probably for the best. He really didn’t feel like any kind of coddling today.

Though the aliens that had taken them turned out to be nice in the end and just wanted to protect them, there was still something unsettling about being kidnapped by a giant termite. He felt dirty and gross, something Pidge agreed with. He had felt so antsy when Lance was in the shower, waiting for him to get out and barely saying anything to him when it was his turn.

He just wanted to get clean.

His skin was a bit pink from the hot water, but that was fine. Keith had been awfully pale lately, even for him.

Making his way back into his room, he tugged on some pyjama pants and was drying his hair. Stupid termite-people. They creeped him out more than the little ones from Earth did.

The feeling intensified into a nauseating twist in his stomach. Keith squeezed his eyes shut and put his hand over his mouth, trying to breathe through his nose for a moment.  
  
It didn’t do him any good.

He turned around, going back into the bathroom, and just barely got to the strange, Altean toilet before he threw up.

Keith gagged, tears instantly flooding his eyes as they always did. He really hated being sick. Not that he expected anyone to _like_ it, he just really hated it.

He gagged a couple more times before his stomach seemed to settle. He breathed in an out for a moment before standing up, the toilet automatically flushing.

He stumbled over to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked clammy and pale again. It was truly a wondrous look on him.

Splashing some water onto his skin and then brushing his teeth, Keith hoped and prayed that Lance was still asleep. He didn’t need the Alpha to worry about him just because he was so grossed out by the aliens. Maybe it was the food that they had given him and Pidge? She seemed fine, but it could impact Galra differently. Or maybe he was just being a judgemental baby pout the giant bugs.

It didn’t really matter. He peaked out into his room, noting that Lance was still dead to the world. Keith smiling slightly, and slipped into the bed beside him. Hopefully he could just sleep off whatever this was before it got worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry the end part is so awkward. I had this tiny plot line (termite-world) for another chapter, but ended up needing to switch things around, so I put it in here before I could fully form it, then I got bored of it. That’s bad when you’re writing because it could lead to writer’s block. So where there was once supposed to be a battle, there was now just skimming over. Oh well. 
> 
> Also the title is kind of a play on different types of 'bugs' (insects, sickness, bothering someone).


	13. What I Know Now

Keith leaned forward, head in his hands. He couldn’t remember the last time that he felt this horrible. Luckily no one was up bothering them this early in the morning, and Lance was a deep sleeper who tended to cover his eyes and wear headphones at night, so he could be slumped over the toilet in peace.

He didn’t get what was wrong, but this had been happening every morning for the past week since they ended up in bug world.

He didn’t understand. He wasn’t one to get sick, and generally speaking, their armour and the decontamination chamber kept them safe from any planet-side things. He had no idea how he could have gotten so sick, but his plan of sleeping it off wasn’t working out.

About to climb back into bed beside his mate, Keith jumped when the alarms blade. Though Lance couldn’t hear it, he certainly felt Keith jerk, and in respond ended up springing up himself.

Keith blinked at Lance sluggishly, but managed to get his features schooled by the time the Alpha got his sleeping mask off. Neither one of them said a word as they hurried to their lions.

Luckily Lance wasn’t with him when the room began to spin, and he had to catch himself. He took a few deep breaths, not having time to deal with this.

He could do it later.

He was the last one in his lion and out of the castle. If anyone found this strange, no one commented on it, focusing on the Galra fighters that had swarmed them, no doubt trying to take control of the planet that they had _just_ liberated.  
  
Keith had no idea if this was Lotor’s strategy, or someone else’s though, since no one in the Galra Empire seemed to be on the same wavelength anymore, and not in a way that they could use against them.

A loud bang echoed through Black’s cockpit as they got caught by one of the lasers. Black spun around wildly, though there was no actual damage.

It really wasn’t a bad hit, and Keith knew that was the reason why no one was calling to ask him if he was okay. Of course he was okay, recovering from that was absolutely nothing. It was a very brief loss of control that he could handle easily.

Except that wasn’t what happened this time. Like earlier that day, the nausea hit him quickly and hit him hard, crawling up his throat. He tore his helmet off and lurched to the side, throwing up on the Black Lion’s floor.

This had to be a first. He couldn’t see Shiro losing it like this. Though the mental image of Zarkon losing his lunch was kind of funny.

Keith took several deep breaths, pulling his helmet back on after he was sure it wouldn’t happen again. Luckily for him, no one had taken notice to the fact that he hadn’t jumped right back into battle, too busy themselves.

What the hell? He had never gotten motion sick, nor did vertigo ever hit him like that before. He internally cursed having this space-flu or whatever it was.

At least the regal Black Lion was sending more worried feelings than disgusting ones. He internally apologized, swearing to clean it up first thing when they got back.

As he pushed back into the battle, a screen popped up in front of him. He blinked with surprise, sure he hadn’t hit anything. Yet right in front of him was a screen blinking with the words ‘Medical Scan Required’.

He felt a pressure in his head, and put two and two together.

“Black,” he muttered quietly, as if worried that someone else might hear him even though he had his comms muted. “Is that from you?” An affirmative feeling washed over him.

Okay, so the Black Lion couldn’t tell him where they had sent Shiro, but could insist that he get a checkup.  Though still bitter about the first part, Keith supposed that the latter was fair. He did puke all over them for no reason, and it wasn’t like there was anyone else here to bother or coddle him.

“Alright,” Keith replied as he blasted through more fighters. They were getting close to the big ship and should be able to take it out as they were. He was really hoping that they wouldn’t have to form Voltron when he felt so horrible. “I’ll do it when I get back to the castle.”

Protesting. Insistence.

Keith sighed. He knew that their suits were fully equipped with a scanning system. That way if the suits were keeping them from bleeding to death, they wouldn’t just yank it off by accident. It also came in handy for scanning others on the field. It wasn’t quite as powerful as the ones in the med bay, but it would do.

“Fine, pushy,” Keith said. He tapped a couple buttons on the cuff of his suit before focusing on flying again. The scans would take a moment, and he had more important things to focus on.

In fact, he didn’t check it again until they were already on their way back to the castle. Everyone’s spirits were up, since there had really been no problems with that battle at all. Every victory left their new, not-so-shaky-anymore team feeling amazing.

The holographic screen listed several things. Elevated blood pressure. Nutritional and hydration levels low. Mild iron deficiency. Fetus status: normal.

Keith almost rammed Black into the side of their hangar, his mouth falling open as he read that line again.

_Fetus status: normal._  
  
He felt numb, unable to really do anything but sit there and stare at the words with wide eyes. Black did most of the work settling back into their hangar.

It wasn’t uncommon for them to spend some time with their lions after a mission, so one would be looking for him for a little while. That was good, because Keith couldn’t do anything but gape in horror, his hands shaking.

“No, no, no,” he muttered under his breath, panic crawling through his body. “That’s not possible. It’s not. The protection was good. One of the best from Earth. I—I wasn’t—I got checked after my last heat. I’m not—it—this has to be wrong.”

He felt Black reaching out to him, comforting him in their own way, though it felt almost crushing to his panicking mind.

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Keith said to himself after making sure that all of his comms were off. He didn’t need anyone else hearing this. He needed to think. He needed a plan. “Okay. That could be wrong.  The suits misdiagnosed things before. Maybe it’s just a tumour.”

Keith paused at that. Did he really just say out loud that a tumor was better than a—

He couldn’t even think the word without freaking out. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling warmth run down his cheeks. Great, now he was crying too. How the hell was he going to hide this from everyone else?

He needed to calm down so no one would know that something was wrong. Well, Lance was going to know no matter what, but he also respected the fact that sometimes Keith didn’t want to talk about what was bothering him and didn’t push it, instead letting Keith go to him when he wanted to talk. Bless him for that.

Keith needed to distract himself, to think clinically and clearly.

First thing, he needed to clean up Black. Then he needed to meet up with everyone else for a debriefing. Then he needed to scan himself in the med bay without alerting anyone. He didn’t know how to use the one Coran used to check him after his heat, but there were scanners similar to his there. He just needed a separate piece of technology, since his suit could have been messing up.

Then he’d see from there.

This was going to be an absolute disaster, and there was no one to blame but himself.

…

As it turned out, Keith was a horrible actor. Though he managed to dry his eyes and get the redness from them, everyone could tell that he was jumpy and distracted. Luckily, everyone just assumed that it was the same thing bothering him before (which it was). Unluckily, it had been going on long enough for everyone else to get a little pushier with him about his health.

 “Go lay down,” Allura told him sternly, leaving no room for arguing. “You look like you need it.”

“I agree,” Lance said, Hunk, Pidge, and Coran nodding their heads. “Come on, I’ll walk you back.”  
  
“No, you stay here and help everyone else,” Keith insisted. Lance was about to protest, and he snapped, “I can walk to bed myself, I’m not that weak!” He felt bad for snapping, but couldn’t really help it. He felt so confused and scared that it wasn’t even funny. He was so glad his suit hid his scent.

“There’s some medicine in the med bay that will probably help,” Coran said. “It’s in the first cabinet, and the only purple bottle. It works wonders for Galra, and isn’t at all harmful for humans. I just managed to unearth it recently, but all our medication was stored so that it didn’t go bad over time.”

“Thanks Coran,” Keith replied, glad he had an excuse to go to the med bay. Just in case someone else caught him there and wondered what he was doing. He quickly left the room without waiting for anyone else to say anything.

Once he got there, he fiddled with the scanner, feeling so nervous that he was about to throw up again. It only took a second to scan himself, and then he waited for the results (while also resisting the urge to pitch the machine across the room).

It was more detailed, but the end result was the same thing: he was pregnant.

Keith stared at the results blankly, before tapping on the spot that said ‘fetus stats’, like he was opening some kind of game menu for a new character (he was going to be sick). Everything was positive on it, though he couldn’t help but note that it’s estimated development was around 7 weeks.

He quickly deleted all of the information and shut it off, inhaling sharply.

Fleetingly, he remembered to grab the medicine so no one would question him, and numbly made his way back towards the room he shared with Lance. He wasn’t really conscious of anything that he was doing, moving on muscle memory and instinct.

He kicked off his armour and clothes, instead grabbing his comfortable pyjama pants and a black t-shirt that wasn’t soaked with sweat. He pulled on the pants, but before he put on the shirt, he took the opportunity to look at himself the mirror.

Turning sideways, he noted that it was impossible to tell that something was different with him yet. That was a relief. Then again, the scanner had said 7 weeks, which was just under two months.

He tried to pin a time when this could have happened, flushing a bit when he realized that it was a little hard to pinpoint an exact date. That wasn’t uncommon for recently bonded mates, but it was still embarrassing.

It definitely wasn’t during his heat; he had been scanned a week after that which was plenty of time to detect a pregnancy in an Omega (let alone with Altean technology). Keith counted back seven weeks, and realized, with a bark of a bitter laugh, that it probably happened the week _after_ he had been scanned.

And not a single person had noticed after being _so_ paranoid. Looks like the joke was on all of them. At least he still had plenty of time to decide what he wanted to do.

His heat was due in a little less than a phoeb, and missing one was something he couldn’t hide since his was in sync with Pidge’s (and Lance kept track of it better than he did, apparently). He _could_ say that stress made him skip another one, but missing two in a row was an sign that something was definitely wrong. Everyone would insist that he get scanned, and then he’d be caught anyway. (Though on a side note, he really should look into that mild iron deficiency thing since that couldn't be good).

Staring at the ceiling, he realized that he was getting ahead of himself. One thing he knew for sure was that he was _not_ telling Lance. Not until he decided what he wanted to do. It might have been selfish, but he couldn’t do it right now.

A groan escaped Keith’s lips. As soon as everyone found out, he’d become an instant burden. He had already felt how protective Black was as soon as the results appeared (which was weird since Black had almost let Shiro get mauled by lizard-wolf monsters once). It was nothing compared to what everyone else would do, and there was really nothing worse than the thought of being a burden to Voltron. Hell, they’d probably insist he not go on missions or even fly Black. Not only did that bother him that others would decide what he could or couldn’t do, but he’d be letting Shiro down even more. It was bad enough as it was. Getting knocked up just showed how stupid he really was.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Okay, options. If he was on Earth, he would have three generic ones: keep it, adoption, or abortion.

The first thing that they all learned in Altean was how to read the screens on the healing pods. Coran had taken them through all of the settings and things that they could do. An abortion was not one of those things but they probably weren't expecting this to happen to one of their Paladins. It was kind of a pity, because it was honestly probably his best option at the moment.  This was not the right environment to have or raise a baby, nor was Coran the right person for it.

Maybe he could get them to stop somewhere else to have the procedure done. Surely it would be possible on Olkarion? He didn’t want to go to a planet he knew nothing about, and that really seemed like the only allied planet that had the ability to perform the procedure on him. Not that they had ever dealt with human biology before, but they had the tech to make up for that.

That would mean telling the others…telling Lance.

Keith firmly believe that this was _his_ decision, and that despite what many Alphas (and some Betas) thought, they didn’t get a say on what he did with his body. That including letting another person grow inside of him.

Lance had even said as much before, making it very clear that he would support whatever choice Keith made if this exact situation came about. It made him feel a little bit better.

Lance was very family oriented. Keith couldn’t help but think about how _much_ Lance missed his family. The family that probably thought he was dead and had for years at this point. For that reason alone, he probably wouldn’t be _completely_ okay with Keith getting an abortion. It wasn’t like he’d physically stop him or something, he would support him and he insisted that he wouldn’t leave or something, but Keith found himself doubting that.

He tried to squash those thoughts down, but they wouldn’t go away. All he could think about was how he’d ruin not just Voltron, but them on a personal level.

That was why, if Keith wanted to go through with an abortion, he’d have to do it in secret. He’d never get to Olkarion in one of their pods, and he couldn’t trust that he’d end up in a safe place that would be able to do it. One of the lions could get there, but then he’d have to come up with a story about why he was gone. While he could say he was looking for Shiro and got caught somewhere for a bit, reality was, Keith _sucked_ at lying to people he cared about, at least for long periods of time. He’d get called out eventually.

“Okay, calm down,” he muttered to himself. He couldn’t get overwhelmed with emotions. As much as he just wanted to sleep, he needed to think of some kind of plan now.

Keith supposed that he could go to a random planet if he absolutely needed to. He could hide it as long as he could, and then leave for a little while and give It to a family on an allied planet that could take care of it where he couldn’t. He’d have to wait until they were near the right planet though, which could take forever, since the Galra were always lurking and it would be incredibly hard to get away from the team.

Still, that was an option. He could leave it.

Just like his mother left him.

Keith lurched out of the bed and towards the bathroom, just barely reaching the toilet in time to throw up again. He held onto the metal so tightly that his knuckles turned milky white.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave the thing with someone else, having them always wonder what they did wrong. Keith laughed bitterly as he wiped his hair away from his eyes. Was this what his mother had gone through?

He supposed it made sense that she left him with his dad if she was fighting in a war. If Lance wasn’t in the same position as him, Keith would have no qualms about leaving it with him. Lance wasn’t an option though, neither was going back to Earth, so he’d have to leave it on an alien planet with alien strangers.

Keith had spent his whole life wondering what he had done wrong. Wondering why his mother had abandoned him. Now he finally got it. Why she wasn’t around finally made sense (along with the fact that she probably had some Galra features and, as the Garrison showed when Shiro appeared, they weren’t exactly welcoming to things from space).

 Still, at least she knew she was keeping him with someone safe that would take care of him. That didn’t really mean anything though, did it? He didn’t want anyone else to turn out like him. It would be extremely hypocritical if he put his own child in a similar situation.

That left keeping it. That left having this thing and raising it himself.

Holy shit, Keith didn’t think he could do that alone. Well, no, not alone. Lance would help him as soon as he knew. Keith was sure of it, so he didn’t know what he was hesitating so much.

Of course, this was all assuming that the fetus even _survived_. There was absolutely no way he could stop going on missions at the moment. The odds of him having a miscarriage were actually very high, considering how stressful things were, the missions they went on, and their training. Keith could just not do anything and let nature do its thing. He could claim that he hadn’t known. They wouldn’t lose another Paladin before Shiro came back. A child wouldn’t have to suffer having _him_ as a mother. It would be for the best.

And it also made Keith cringe.

He hated the idea so much that it made him lurch forward towards the toilet again. Those were his best options though: run to get an abortion, or let nature take its course with a miscarriage. God, how was this his life? It wasn’t like he was a teenage Omega with no home and nowhere to go. No, the castleship was technically his home, he was an adult, and he was mated to an amazing Alpha. If they weren’t in the middle of a space war, he probably still would have been freaked out, but he would have considered it. He probably would have decided to keep it.

Knowing that gave him pause, and Keith realized that he  _couldn't_ make this decision right now. He was far too emotional about it all, far too shocked and basically in survival mode. He had to actually take time to think about this, to think about what he  _really_ wanted to do.

He cleaned himself up and went back to bed again, figuring that Lance was probably going to be returning soon. He owed him an apology for snapping at him.

The thought of his mate made Keith decide that he wasn’t going to run off without a word to anyone. It would have been incredibly selfish, especially since they hadn’t found Shiro yet and there was no one to fly Black. He couldn’t leave the team like that. No, he’d stay. Despite not wanting to make a decision now, he would have to start mentally preparing himself for the miscarriage that was no doubt coming. How could it not?  
  
Of course, there was always the off-chance that the fetus _would_ survive. By leaving it to chance, if that did happen, it meant that he would have to be a parent.

So much for taking time to make a decision. He was either going to lose this fetus before it was born, or he was going to have it and raise it. Both thoughts made his heart pound in his ears.

He whimpered and buried his face in his pillow.

Lance would take a miscarriage too hard, but there was no point in telling him. In the event the fetus did survive, he would tell his mate either after they found Shiro, or when he couldn’t hide it anymore. Lance was such an amazing mate, never trying to control him or anything, but Keith had few illusions that his entire pack would force him out of his lion if they found out in the name of keep him safe. 

Not until Shiro came back. Then he would step aside like he was going to anyway. At least he’d have a good reason now. He wasn’t _completely_ abandoning them.

This was going to be a mess.

…

The second that Keith looked at Lance after finding out that there was a little parasite inside of him, he had to bite his own lip to stop from blurting it out to his mate. What might have been easy once was going to be an absolute bitch to try and keep quiet about. The end result was that he just always seemed like he was in a bad mood. Like that wasn’t going to worry everyone.

He found himself hiding in Black more often lately as a result

As much as Keith didn’t want to be the Leader of Voltron, as much as he knew he could never fill Shiro’s, as much as he missed Red’s wild presence, he did actually like Black.

Black’s presence was so vast and overwhelming, but there was also something comforting about the lion too. He felt safe with them. Honestly, it felt like Shiro was with him, if that made any kind of sense. It was strange, because this wasn’t exactly what Shiro had described before, but maybe Black was just reacting to his condition.

He grimaced a bit at the uncomfortable feeling of nausea, taking his hand off of the controls and pressing his knuckles against his mouth. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself under control.

Morning sickness his _ass_. Not that ‘morning’ as a time meant much in space, but his sickness did not only happen in the morning. It did, he was always launching out of bed before Lance was awake (bless his mate and his heavy sleeping). After that, there was usually a lingering nausea that rose up in him at random times of day. The actual throwing up tended to happen again in their version of mid-afternoon, and he had luckily always been on his own.

Or in Black. He felt so bad for the lion that he smuggled a bucket into the cockpit and secured it down.

When he was sure that he wasn’t going to throw up, he took a deep breath and put his hand back on the controls, opening his eyes again. “I’m okay.”

He would have thought that the motion of flying would make him feel worse, and while spinning and jerking movements didn’t particularly help, when they were moving smoothly, Keith actually found it soothing.

Perhaps that was why Black had urged Keith on more solo searches for Shiro. That, and Black probably wanted a more capable Paladin that could actually lead and wouldn’t go and get themselves knocked up.

Black sent feelings of disagreement, followed by worried, protective, and, oddly enough, nurturing.

“You want to keep me safe?” Keith asked.

Agreement.

He couldn’t help but feel himself flushing. Black was the only one that knew what was happening, that knew what his plan was. They didn’t particularly agree with his pessimistic outlook, but also seemed to accept his decisions for now. That was kind of nice. It was kind of like how Keith didn’t _want_ to be the leader, but he eventually accepted that he needed to act as the leader, and did what he could instead of actively protesting it.  Black seemed to think of that as great improvement.

It was nice to have that acceptance, and Keith was sure that he wouldn’t get it from everyone else once they found out.

Keith closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat a bit, trusting Black to alert him if something were to come up. All the while, long range scanners that Pidge and Hunk worked on for what felt like forever, were running, locked onto Shiro’s unique DNA sequence.

They were always going now.

That was why, when the monitors suddenly started beeping, Keith found himself lurching forward, eyes going wide. His breath left him, and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“We found him,” Keith whispered, blinking rapidly. He was _not_ going to cry. Yes, this was huge, but it wasn’t something to _cry_ over.

Except that Shiro was his brother that had been missing for _months_ , and Keith was _pregnant_ , and his hormones were already altering to accommodate the fetus (he was not going to say that he’d been having mood swings).

He took a deep breath, scrambling to turn on the comms. “Guys?”

He waited a moment, knowing that the message might take a second to relay to the closest person in the castle. A moment later, Coran’s voice rang through. “Go ahead, Keith.”

“We found him,” Keith choked out, eyes not leaving the location indicated on the screen. “We’ve got a lock on Shiro.”

There was a pause and then, “Stay where you are. We’ll come to you and warp over together.”  
  
“Alright.” Everything went silent, and Keith found himself leaning back in his seat again. He put his hand over his face and then slowly yanked it down as he exhaled.

The castle appeared much sooner than he expected it too, and a moment later, a screen with Lance’s face appeared. “How you doing, Mullet?”

He barked out a laugh at the nickname. “I feel like I’m about to throw up.” It wasn’t a lie, and it wasn’t his morning sickness (screw that term). It felt more like a nervous excitement.

Lance laughed in response. Another screen opened with Allura in it, a smile on her face. “Send me the coordinates and I’ll create a worm hole to get us there quickly.”

With the tap of a few holographic buttons, the information was sent. “Done. I’m staying in Black.”

“Want us in our lions?” Lance asked.

“No.” Keith shook his head and looked back at the screen. “Looks like he’s the only thing out there.”

Now Pidge appeared in yet another screen. “My scans say the same.” She was smiling as much as everyone else was, and Keith understood why. If they could find Shiro, who was widely known in the Galra Empire, then they could find Matt too.

The wormhole opened up in front of him, and Keith led the way through it. His breath caught in his throat when he realized that there was a lone Galra escape pod in front of them.

He heard Pidge inhale sharply over the comms. “We were in this area a week ago.”

That startled not only Keith, but Black as well. The lion had been pumping out thoughts of excitement and contentment, but now that was tainted with a sudden wariness that didn’t make sense.

“Come on,” Keith urged them. Though the wariness was still there, Black listened and moved forward with ease, claws digging into the small pod. They turned back towards the castle, moving as quickly as Black possibly could.

Everyone was waiting in Black’s hanger for them as Black set the pod down and then landed properly. Keith scrambled out of the lion, nearly tripping in his hurry to get to the escape pod.

Lance suddenly appeared in front of him, wrapping his arms around him. “Just wait.”

Keith opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when he realized that everyone was in their armour, and Hunk had his bayard activated as Coran and Allura worked on opening the pod. “I don’t…”

“Just in case,” Lance assured him, shifting so that his arm was draped around Keith’s shoulders. The Omega could easily run forward, but chose to trust his Alpha, who only ever had his best interests in mind.

Shiro’s familiar scent hit Keith hard, and he couldn’t stop the tears from flooding down his cheeks as Coran carried Shiro out. The man’s skin was paler, his hair long, and his scent was overwhelmingly bad now that they got closer. He must have been in that pod for an entire week.

It also didn’t look like he was breathing.

A quiet whimper that only Lance could hear escaped Keith. The Alpha tugged his mate closer for comfort as they waited for a verdict.

“He’s alive,” Coran said happily. “In need of a pod, but definitely alive!”

Bayards were put away, tears and smiles abundant as they followed Coran.

“You found him,” Lance whispered pressing a quick kiss to the side of his head. “You really did it.”  
  
“Yeah,” Keith replied just as quietly. It might take Shiro a little while to get better, but he was alive and he was back with them.

No one was looking at him, so no one noticed him press his hand against his stomach briefly. That meant that he’d be spilling the beans about his more personal issue soon. The thought made him sick, but it was what he had decided before and nothing was going to change his mind.

Black’s sad thoughts mingled with his own, surprising Keith. Shouldn’t the lion have been happy? Their Paladin was alive and would be fine.

_No._

The firm voice that was neither male nor female made Keith stumble a bit from the sheer intense vastness of it. Lance kept him up right, muttering something about being clumsy, and they kept going forward. Keith wasn’t paying attention to him though, focusing his mind on the lion. He didn’t understand.

_Wrong._

No, everything was right for once.

_No_. Black insisted. Their next thought made Keith’s stomach drop.

_Not my Paladin_.

…

Lance liked to think that he was a pretty open-minded individual. Yeah, maybe a lot of people said he was annoying and overly persistent at times, but he never meant it in a harmful way. He was flirty, boisterous, and dramatic, embracing that side of him with few issues most of the time. He liked being loud, fun, and happy. It would have been great if he could be like that all of the time, you know, barring serious moments.  
  
Admittedly though, he tended to use that side of him to cover up the moments when he couldn’t smile anymore. The moments where it felt like something was pressing him under the water and not letting him back up.

He had never experienced a near-drowning moment himself, not literally. He was a strong swimmer, his Papá often commenting that he was actually a mermaid that ended up on land instead of in the ocean. He had seen it though, and he knew enough to know that it was agonizing.  
  
Lance wondered if this really was what it felt like.

He made his way back to his room with slow, hesitant steps, sighing when he reached the door. He waited for a moment before pressing the button to open it and moving inside.

Keith was already there, which honestly surprised Lance a little. He thought that the Omega would have been with Shiro still. He clearly had been, since the Beta’s scent lingered on him, but Lance would have thought that Keith would be over-the-moon happy. He no longer had to be the leader, after all.

Instead he seemed rather calm, his own scent neutral as he finished polishing his Marmora blade. He looked up when Lance entered, and where there had once been a small smile, a concerned frown replaced it. “Lance?”

He sighed again, shoulders rising and dropping dramatically. He made his way over to the bed, shrugging off his coat and slinging it around his mate’s shoulders. The Omega smelled far too much like Shiro at the moment, though the smell wasn’t nearly as strong as it would have been if the man was an Alpha.  Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, nuzzling him.

“Lance?” Keith repeated and pushed him back a bit so he could look up at him. “What’s wrong?”

Lance hesitated, but realized that, at the moment, Keith _was_ their leader, not Shiro. Honestly, Lance selfishly would have preferred Keith being the leader, but he bit his tongue and kept that thought to himself, because he knew how much the Omega hated it. On top of that, Keith was his mate – his bonded life partner. If there was anyone he could talk to this about, it was him.

“I’ve been doing some math,” he said slowly. He held up six fingers. “With Shiro back, that makes six Paladins, but there are only five lions.” He put down his pinky. “If I’m right, that’s one paladin too many.” He put all his other fingers down and brought his pinky back up.

“Solid math,” Keith said slowly.

“Look.” Lance took a deep breath, dropping his hands and curling his fingers into his jeans. “When Shiro takes over Black, you’re going to want Red back. If I get a lion, that means I’d have to take Blue from Allura but she’s made more progress than any of us. She could even unlock powers we don’t even know of!”

He couldn’t look at Keith, keeping his focus on the floor. The Omega hesitated for a moment before saying, “That’s true. About Allura.”

Lance nodded his head stiffly. He missed Blue so much, but he understood that he was never going to be her permanent Paladin again. It hurt, but he knew that Allura needed Blue more than he did, and vice versa. “So maybe the best thing I can do for the team is step aside.”

There, he got it out. Now his current team leader, his Omega, his _mate_ knew just how much of a failure he was. If they weren’t already bonded, Lance could imagine Keith turning away from him for being so useless.

“What are you talking about?” Lance blinked and looked up, a bit surprised by how _offended_ Keith sounded. His mate was staring at him as if he were the single craziest thing in the entire universe.

Maybe this was just one of those moments Keith didn’t understand. Maybe he needed to be a bit clearer. “This isn’t a participation game, this is war, and you want your best soldiers on the front lines.”

“And that _is_ you,” Keith insisted. He shifted closer, this time wrapping his arms around Lance to hug him. “Idiot Alpha, I told you before, this team needs you. I wasn’t lying.”

“I think you’re a bit biased.”

“No.” Keith shook his head and backed off, sitting beside him again. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and hunched over slightly. “Trust me, Lance. Things _will_ work themselves out.”  
  
“How does something like this just work itself out?” Lance asked skeptically. He knew that Keith was trying to encourage him, but it wasn’t doing much, really.

“It will. You’re always going to be a Paladin, Lance. Trust me.”

He couldn’t really deny his Omega that, could he? Keith sounded so sure when he said that the team needed him, that it made something inside of him jump excitedly. It didn’t erase that horrible feeling of something dark weighing on him, but it was a small spot of light that he was going to cling to.

Keith thought he was worth it. Keith wouldn’t have been tricked into bonding with someone he didn’t think was worth his time. The Omega was too fiery and stubborn for that.

That certainly was something that made him feel better about that part of his life. The rest could use a lot of work though.

“Lance?” Keith looked at him, a small smile on his face as he reached out and put his hands on his shoulders. “Leave the math to Pidge.”

The Alpha gaped at him. Did he just try to make him feel better by _insulting_ him? Lance shook his head and smiled softly, leaning forward so his head was on Keith's shoulder, arms wrapped around his waist. He breathed deeply, relaxing against him as Keith ran his hand through his hair. 

It didn't get rid of his insecurities though. Not entirely. “Pidge is brilliant. Hunk is an engineering genius. Allura’s got the magical thing going. Shiros an amazing leader. You’re the best pilot we have. I’m just—”

“I’m pregnant,” Keith blurted out.

Lance jerked back away from him so that he could see his face, his hands resting on Keith's hips while the Omega's were on his shoulders still. Keith's eyes were wide, as if he was horrified with himself or what he blurted out.

Lance’s entire world froze as he stared back. He was fairly certain that time stopped then and there. His mouthed opened and closed, his mind absolutely short circuiting. “What?”

“I—“ Keith faltered,drawing away from him and shifted away a bit, arms wrapping around himself again. “I’m pregnant.” He paused. “I—I think it’s like nine weeks along or something like that. I think.”

“Okay. Okay. I—holy shit.” Lance breathed out harshly, unable to really comprehend what was going on. This was one hell of a joke.  
  
Then it hit him hard. Keith would _never_ joke about something like this, and everything about his posture, stare, and scent screamed that he was serious and scared. Of course he was, that made sense. He was _pregnant_.

Lance burst into hysterical laughter, his hand grabbing Keith’s when the Omega tried to pull away. His entire body shook with laughter.  
  
“Let go of me,” Keith snarled at him, eyes blazing angrily as he tried to twist away from him. “You think this is _funny_?”

“No. Kind of?” Lance admitted. “I mean, I don’t, but come on, it hasn’t even been a year! Like, we decided to bond with one another on our _second_ heat together, and then before your _next_ heat, you’re pregnant! It’s kind of hilarious!” He paused and thought about how this could have happened. The protection they used was good. Just thinking about that sent him into hysterics again. “For the first time in my life, I am a part of the one percent.” Another pause. “We are the textbook definition of typical mates should look like.”

They really, truly had become that textbook, stereotypical couple that mated and immediately produced a pup. It was actually ‘the way things were supposed to be’, according to the beliefs of lesser people. It happened time and time again, a couple marked one another (usually during a heat) and the Omega immediately became pregnant.

It was exactly what Keith didn’t want to be. 

Keith’s face fell, and Lance realized a minute too late that he had said exactly the wrong thing. The Omega broke out of his hold before he could apologize and backed away from him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t…I was just…”

“I—I didn’t _want_ to get pregnant. I didn’t do this on purpose.” Keith’s voice was high and distressed.

“Keith. I didn’t mean…”

He shook his head and backed away. “I shouldn’t have told you.” He looked like he was about to run, but then his entire body tensed. Lance could smell his scent sour as he put his hand by his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. The next thing he knew, Keith practically launched himself towards the bathroom. Lance rushed after him, getting to the door as the Omega leaned over the toilet and retched.

He hovered for a moment, unsure of if he’d be welcomed, but then realized that his feelings didn’t matter at the moment. He moved forward, kneeling beside Keith and carding his black hair away from his face. He rubbed his back as Keith’s entire body shook.

After a while, Keith leaned away, breathing heavily as he wiped his mouth. He leaned back against the wall and then looked at Lance warily, panting slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Lance said softly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just…I wasn’t thinking.” He stared at his partner sadly. Keith looked _so_ tired, and Lance _knew_ what he felt about having children. He had freaked out and got lost in his own head for a moment and forgot that _he_ wasn’t the one that had another person growing inside of him.  
  
Oh god. Keith was _pregnant_. There was a _baby_ growing inside of him. Their baby. One they had created together.

No. Lance stopped himself from going down that path. Not yet. Instead, he focused on Keith, who looked dangerously close to crying. “You said nine weeks, right?” Keith nodded hesitantly. “I’m sure there’s a planet that you could…you know…get rid of it if you wanted to.”

Keith’s eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t…hate me for that?”  
  
“Hate you? God no.” Lance quickly wrapped his arms around him. “Never. Keith, I love you and I want you to be happy and healthy. If you don’t want this right now, it’s okay. There’ll be other chances in the future if it’s what we want.”  
  
“What if we don’t,” Keith replied, almost hysterically. “Hunk lost his ability to have kids. What if it happens to one of us and then you hate me for getting rid of the one we could have had?”

Lance hesitated, because that was true, but what had led Keith to thinking like that? He ran a hand up and down his arm and said, “Then that’s what happens, and in the distant future, if we decide we wants pups, we adopt them. It’s whatever you want. You don’t have to pick now.”

Keith whimpered a bit before leaning his head on Lance’s shoulder.  “You know that I’m probably going to lose it before I even decide on anything, right?”

“Is that what you’ve been thinking?”

“I thought about it. I—it’d make sense for me to get rid of it, right? We’re in a war.”

The Alpha let out a shuddering breath. “If it’s what you want. Like I said. We have time for you to choose, and Shiro’s back now.”

“Can we keep it between us?” Keith asked, his voice so quiet that it was almost hard to hear. “Just you and me?”

Lance understood. He really did, and honestly, it was probably for the best, so he nodded his head. He was going to let Keith lead on this.

After brushing his teeth, Lance ushered Keith back to bed, able to smell how exhausted he was in every sense of the word. Keith nodded off quickly, leaving Lance with his thoughts.

He stared down at his mate, running his hands through his hair. Honestly, Lance wouldn’t at all be upset if Keith decided to keep the baby. In fact, the thought made him a little bit excited. How could he _not_ be happy about the idea of having a child with the person he loved most? He’d always loved kids and wanted a big family. Yes, it had been a little less than a year since this whole thing started between them, but that really wasn’t uncommon.

They were young adults of the age where people tended to find their mate and started having pups (not that there was any official rule on that but it was kind of expected). Literally no one on Earth would look at their situation and see anything negative about it.

He knew that Keith didn’t grow up with an idealistic view of family that Lance had. He _knew_ that. He knew Keith, even if he said it wouldn’t be the worst thing if they ended up with a baby, was still terrified. Not as much as before, but it was still there. Plus, they were in the middle of a war. What kind of life could they give a child?

Well, with the rest of the Paladins, they probably _could_ give a baby a good life. Allura had basically grown up in the castle, and she was amazing. Not to mention Shiro was back, so Keith could step down as the Black Paladin.

Though they’d have to definitely look into something for him to do around the castle – something that wasn’t just busy work, but was useful. Keith would go stir-crazy otherwise.

If Keith wanted to have an abortion though, Lance wasn’t about to stop him. Yeah, it made him a little sad, but who was he to _force_ someone to carry a child against their will? Nothing would come from that but resentment and hatred.

“Lance,” Keith muttered, startling him out of his thoughts. The Omega blinked up at him tiredly. “Can smell you. It’s really stressed.”

“Well, yeah,” Lance replied quietly, as if talking aloud would ruin everything between them. He leaned down slightly and breathed in. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice how different you smell. It makes me want to cuddle and protect you from everything."

“Go to sleep,” Keith muttered to him, and Lance decided to listen to him. He needed to calm down, though he doubted that he was going to get any kind of sleep anytime soon.

…

“Please, Black,” Keith whispered to the lion desperately. “You know what’s going on. Please let him back in.”

He was nearly in full-on panic mode. He had thought that at least one large portion of his problem had been solved when the found Shiro almost dead, but still blissfully alive, in a Galra escape pod. His brother, their real leader, was back.

He could step back as leader without any type of guilt. Allura could continue to pilot Blue since, as Lance pointed out, she was improving far faster than any of the rest of them had. Lance, his wonderfully ridiculous self-sacrificing mate, would realize that he was meant to be the Red Paladin now. In the long run, that had never been in the cards for Keith.

Lance’s knowledge of the baby did open up more options for him again in a sense, or at least it let him go back and double check that the choice he made the first time was actually the one he wanted. Lance was smart, he could no doubt find a way to play things to get them to a medically advanced world for that kind of procedure.  
  
Keith wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted that though. It was probably the _best_ idea, but keeping it wouldn’t interfere with Voltron anymore, since Shiro was back. Except, it was almost like Shiro  _wasn't_ back. Black had locked him out, and though he was allowed inside the lion, they wouldn’t react to him at all. What was worse was that after the first time, Shiro refused to try again, period.

Nothing Keith said could appeal to his pseudo-brother, so instead he tried to talk to the lion. He wanted to remind them that Shiro was by far the superior leader, that, on an unselfish level, it would be better for the team and the galaxy. Black was also well aware of Keith’s current condition.  
  
Who were ancient, sentient, robotic lions to listen to what people told them to do though? Black was firm on their decision. No Shiro.

The thing was, Keith was equally stubborn. There was a perfectly good Paladin, a Paladin more suited for the job than him, in the castle. He wasn’t about to let this go.

He couldn’t help but think that this development made the possibility of a miscarriage shoot through the roof. If that was going to happen anyway, why wouldn’t he find a safe way to abort it in the first place?

Keith sighed as he ran a hand along his stomach. Technically there was no change to it at all, but sometimes Keith swore that the once flat plains of his stomach were now just slightly less defined, slightly softer. The majority of the time, he felt sick, disgusting, and puffy. Lance didn't see anything through. 

“Come on, Black, please,” Keith muttered to the lion, not sure if he wanted to explode with anger or tears. Maybe both. God he hated that his hormones seemed geared to make him teary-eyed about almost everything. The head of Voltron could _not_ be drowning in pregnancy hormones. They couldn’t be that vulnerable. All of Keith’s instincts were already gearing up to protect and ensure the safety of the fetus inside of him, whether he wanted that or not. He was going to do something stupid like put himself first by accident, and that was the _last_ thing he wanted to do.

If he _had_ to stay in Black, reality was, he probably should get an abortion.

Keith was frustrated. Not because there was anything inherently wrong about that option, no, he fully-embraced the fact that people made that choice all the time. No, his frustration came from the same place many of his insecurities did: someone was taking his options from him. This time that someone was Black.  
  
He felt the lion’s remorse for him, but they were stubborn and would not move on the topic of Shiro.

“Come on,” Keith groaned. “You were just as excited to find him as I was before you started talking about him being wrong for some reason. You know you want him more than me.” He felt them disagree with him, and he slumped back. “Why not? I’m not—I was just a poor replacement! I’m _nothing_ compared to him. I’m a shit leader and I still don’t get what you saw in me in the first place.”

He felt their disagreement again, but nothing more. The most forward they had ever been with him was when they found Shiro.

“Black, you _know_ I can’t stay.” He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the console. “I was only supposed to stay until we found Shiro. We need Voltron, and I—I can’t keep doing this. I can’t…I—I. Please.” He felt something warm and comforting surround him. He took a deep breath and whispered, “Please, let him in. Shiro was born to pilot you – to be a leader. I wasn’t.”

He truly didn’t understand. Allura once said that Black’s Paladin had to be willing to lead and that sounded so _far_ from him. Then again, there was so much more to each lion than a couple simplified character attributes. It’d be arrogant to think that everything across the universe saw things in the same light that people, Alteans, or Galra did.

Though it was probably universally accepted that he sucked as a leader.

_Wrong_.

Keith blinked. It was the same voice as before, the one that felt so powerful that he felt like he shouldn’t have been hearing it at all. It took him a moment to realize it was Black. “What’s wrong?”

_Shiro_.

Shiro was wrong. Well, he _could_ kind of see that. Shiro was definitely different. He was a little more closed off, a little harsher than he was before. Keith found himself becoming easily frustrated with his older brother, and the man seemed more and more annoyed at him. He kind of just assumed he was overreacting due to his hormones, but he could also understand if Shiro was a bit off. The man had been in Galra captivity _twice_.

A wave of resentment rushed through Keith. “This wouldn’t have happened if you wouldn’t have teleported him to them."

_No_.

Black had insisted over and over that they _hadn’t_ teleported Shiro to the Galra, but Keith never got any other impressions from them beyond that. They wouldn't explain, no matter who asked or how they asked.

“Please, Black.” Dammit, he was going to cry, wasn’t he? This was ridiculous.

_You are needed._ Black projected the thoughts to him sternly. _No harm will come to your cub when you are with me, if that is what you choose.  
_  
“Why?” Keith whispered. He _couldn’t_ be the Black Paladin and raise an infant at the same time. Maybe when they were a bit bigger and could be left with Coran, but not when they were very young, and definitely not while they were still inside of him. 

Black seemed to catch these thoughts, and they did agree with that. There was a bit of hesitation. _Let me watch. Let me see. Wait and see his heart. Trust me for a while longer. I will keep you safe_.

“Alright,” Keith croaked out, deciding that this was definitely progress. “Just a little longer. You’ll let Shiro back in though, right?

_That is what we will see_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WASN'T going to post this chapter until I was finished the one I'm writing now, but holy hell the response to the last chapter was amazing and so many people asked so nicely. 
> 
> Oh look. Honestly, I figured that everyone would pick up on that. I was also GOING to try and write more to put a few chapters in between the last one and this one, but decided not to drag it on that long since everyone already knew. To be fair though, I've been really pushing the idea that heats, that all these extra instincts, were all about conceiving children so most people should have seen this coming. (You know who didn't see it though? Keith. That's who. Also Lance.)
> 
> Mpreg is SUCH a weird thing for me to write, simply because I always avoided the tag like the plague. Unfortunately, the majority of stories where this happens often bashes women, essentially makes them useless, and seems to treat the "female" reproductive system as a bad thing for some reason? Like, the ONLY way I'm okay with writing this is the fact that I've established very early on that male Omegas all have a uterus, ovaries, vagina, etc. They're intersex. Or they're not intersex and are still male. That's fine too. There is nothing ugly, wrong, or bad about the female reproductive system, so please, take your fetish-based mpreg stuff away from me thanks. 
> 
> So yes, there's a baby. For now.
> 
> Also, wtf is up with Shiro?


	14. Our Choices

Shiro took a deep breath as he leaned his forehead against the punching back he had been using, eyes focusing on the small details of it that he had never noticed before. He just wanted to punch his frustrations away, but that proved to be impossible. His mind went in a hundred different directions all at once, never staying on one specific thing for too long.

Everything in the castle seemed to be the same, but at the same time, it was so different too. Like there was something that just didn’t quite fit, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. All of the other Paladins seemed to be even closer to one another, as well as Allura and Coran. That was nice to see, and could only be good for forming Voltron.

Something he couldn’t do anymore.

He grimaced and looked around to focus on something else. His eyes landed on Keith, who was using the Altean treadmill. He was going on a steady, inclined pace, but it wasn’t nearly as fast or as intense as he’d seen him do in the past. He was focusing on a holobook that was balanced in front of him. There was a bit of sweat on his face, but the rest of his hair was tugged up into a small ponytail.

Shiro approached him, eyes locking onto the back of the young man’s neck. His eyes widened and he said, “You didn’t mention that.” Keith jumped, stumbling as the machine tossed him backwards. Shiro jerked forward, catching him before he could hit the floor. “Careful!”

“Careful?” Keith repeated as he straightened up, wiping his forehead with his gloved hand. He narrowed his indigo eyes at Shiro. “You scared the crap out of me!” He paused and thought back to what he had asked. “I didn’t mention what?”

“Sorry,” Shiro said with a chuckle. He motioned to the back of the Omega’s neck.

Keith reached back, fingers brushing along the mark that permanently scarred his scent gland. Shiro watched as his cheeks went pink, and a smile crossed his features. It honestly made the Beta was to smile too. He couldn’t remember a time he had seen him so utterly content.

“I didn’t?” he asked almost airly. “I meant to. It’s kind of a big deal.”

“It is.” Shiro frowned slightly. “That’s…moving awfully fast.” Keith’s smile instantly fell, and Shiro could actually _see_ him go into attack mode. He held up his hands and said, “Don’t get me wrong, if you’re happy than that’s good, it’s just…a pretty big distraction right now.”  
  
“A distraction from _what_?” Keith asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “Everyone’s been fine with this so far. It doesn’t disrupt with Voltron or anything.”

“Okay,” Shiro said, more to placate him than anything else. There was no reasoning with Keith when he got in certain moods. If the Beta was right, his heat would be coming up very soon, so that might be impacting his emotions right now too. That made him think of something else. “Just…be careful with him, okay?”

“I know we used to argue a lot,” Keith said slowly, “but we’re not going to hurt each other. We’ve been able to work our shit out.”

Shiro shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, I know there’s…protection on board, but it’s not always effective.” The Omega stared at him oddly. “So be careful. We really don’t need _that_ type of distraction.”

Keith blinked slowly, and said, “It’d be a pretty bad thing, wouldn’t it?”  
  
“It would be,” Shiro agreed. He clapped a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Listen, you’re my brother, and I’m just trying to look out for you too. It might be best for Lance to go somewhere else during your heat, just in case. I know it’ll be painful, but I know you can get through it.” He smiled at him warmly and then laughed.

“I’d be a crappy parent, wouldn’t I?” Keith asked him. There was something off about his voice, but Shiro didn’t think much of it. No one wanted to hear negative things about himself.  
  
“You’d probably have some troubles,” Shiro chuckled. “Don’t worry about it though. Just be smart, and you’ll be okay. If you need me to lock Lance somewhere, just let me know, okay?”

“Okay.” He turned off the machine and then looked over at Shiro. “I think I’m going to go check in with Allura. See what’s up.”  
  
“That’s a great idea. I know it’s free-time right now, but a good leader always knows what’s happening. It usually means less free time than everyone else.”  
  
“Right.” Keith’s shoulders slumped and he made his way out of the door.

Shiro knew that Keith didn’t want to fly Black, but that was his reality now, and he’d have to get over that.

He turned and eyed the treadmill. Running off his frustrations actually seemed like a pretty good idea right now.

…

“Eat it.” Hunk looked up at the same time Keith did, both of them looking towards Lance, who had pushed Keith’s plate back closer to him.

Raising an eyebrow, Hunk watched Keith’s eyes narrow at the Alpha. Personally, he kind of agreed with Lance, Keith really didn’t seem to be well lately and definitely should be eating more, but he had never seen Lance be so insistent before.

A quick look around told Hunk that everyone else was watching the exchange too.

“Not hungry,” Keith muttered, keeping his eyes locked on Lance, pointedly avoiding anyone else.  
  
“Don’t care.” Okay, that was a surprise. Usually Lance was really good not pushing Keith. Hunk braced himself for the backlash that was no doubt about to happen. “You _have_ to eat it, and you know it.”

They glared at one another before Keith’s shoulders slumped. He sighed and pulled the food goo back to himself to eat more.

“What just happened?” Pidge whispered in shock.

Lance stared at Keith as if weighing his options. “Keith’s been sick because –“

“Lance!” the Omega snapped at him, completely alarmed and horrified.

“—he has iron deficiency. Well, a mild version of it. So he’s gotta eat more.”

Keith slumped down in his chair some, glaring at Lance heatedly.

“What?” the Alpha said defensively. “They can help figure out what you need to eat. Or see if there’s some kind of pill around or something.”  
  
Everything sunk in for Hunk, and he stared at them with alarm. Iron deficiency of any caliber should not be left alone. He found himself blinking several times, trying to force away the burning at the back of his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Pidge asked, looking up at him. “Are you _crying_?”  
  
Well then. “I’m sorry, it’s just we’ve talked about how Keith might need to eat differently because of his Galra side and I’m so sorry Keith I didn’t do anything to help.”

“Hunk…”  
  
“No, no, let me have this one. This is what I _do_. This is my thing.” A rush of determination shot through him, and he glared at the Omega. “I’m going to figure out something that will help you out. I swear it. Coran, you’ll help too, won’t you?”

“Absolutely!” the Altean agreed without hesitation.  
  
“You…you guys don’t have to do that,” Keith managed to get out, though he looked oddly choked up. Lance placed a hand on his back, rubbing it in circles.

“Well, I’m going to. What kind of Pack Leader would I be if one of my pack is sick because he doesn’t get the right kind of food?”  
  
“I agree with Hunk,” Shiro spoke up, instantly silencing any protests Keith might have had. “All of you need to be in top-shape. You should have told everyone about this sooner, Keith.”

Lance’s eyes narrowed. “The symptoms only started showing up recently.”

“Yes, but he wasn’t going to tell us.”  
  
“ _He_ is _right_ here,” Keith said, annoyance dripping from his voice. Hunk couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t at all fun to have people talk about you like you weren’t right in front of them.

Allura suddenly clapped her hands together and said, “Well, at least we know the cause for what’s been ailing you, Keith. It’s something we can manage.”  
  
Keith relaxed slightly and nodded his head. Lance nudged the plate again, and the Omega sighed and kept eating.

Hunk finished his own food, already plotting ideas in his head. He knew of a few things that were pretty rich in iron, he just had to figure out how to work it into the food so it wasn’t nasty. He was sure that Coran could help some, but he’d call the freaking Blade of Marmora if worst came to worst.

His pack was worth that.

When they were all leaving, he noticed Lance and Keith had stayed back in the kitchen. Hunk thought for a moment before inching back closer. He didn’t want to be a snoop, but at the same time, he couldn’t help it.

“Why did you do that?” Keith asked, sounding rather annoyed.

Hunk peered around the corner, watching as Lance put his hands on Keith’s arms. “Now they won’t question when you don’t feel good. Puts their minds at ease, right?” He rubbed his hands up and down a bit. “I’m sorry, I should have told you beforehand. Not blind-sided you by telling everyone private information.”

“Yeah, you should have,” Keith agreed, though his voice was definitely softer. He sighed and walked forward, resting his forehead on Lance’s shoulder. “But thank you. I now you’re just looking out for…me…”

Hunk watched with interest as Lance hugged him close, an almost possessive or protective expression on his face. “I absolutely am looking out for _you_.” He leaned back down, putting his hand underneath Keith’s chin and tilting his head up. “I always will.”

Lance kissing Keith was Hunk’s cue to leave. He couldn’t help but coo a bit at his friends. They were adorable together. A little weird, because who else would Lance worry about as much as his mate now, but being ‘normal’ was boring anyway.  
  
As long as everyone was happy and healthy, that’s really what matter to Hunk.

…

“Saricinae?” Pidge read aloud, stumbling over the word that appeared on her screen.  
  
“That’s correct,” Coran agreed in a chipper voice. “It’s really no surprise that the Galra are interested in this planet. Way back when, the Saricians were known for their healing abilities. The updated information that the Blade of Marmora provided says that they’re now a highly advanced people that specializes in medicine.”

“How advanced?” Lanced asked.

“Far beyond anything that our healing pods can do,” Coran said.

“If this information is true, there doesn’t seem to be a species or ailment that they can’t at least treat,” Shiro noted. “I doubt they’ve never seen humans before, so expect them to be curious about you.”

The other Paladins started talking to one another over the comms, but Lance muted his mic to them so that they couldn’t hear him but he’d be able to catch if someone addressed him directly. He brought up the video feed with Keith. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Keith replied, no doubt having done the same as him by making their conversation private. “Some planet, huh?”

Lance tapped his fingers against Red’s console, and somehow he _knew_ that Keith was thinking of the same thing as him.

A medically advanced planet was exactly what they were looking for. This could be the answer to the problem that they faced, depending on what could be done.

The thought made something twist uncomfortably in Lance. He had tried not to think on the fact that his mate was pregnant. Tried not to let it colour any of his actions, but he knew that it had. He was definitely more protective and tense, finding more things suspicious than he used to before. Keith tried to assure him that everything was fine, but it was _hard_ to believe that when the Omega spent the early morning in the bathroom purging his body of everything that he had eaten the day before and then some.

Keith hadn’t mentioned what he wanted to do, but Lance knew that he was thinking about it. He had been visiting Black more and more, no doubt trying to get answers about why they wouldn’t take back Shiro. He had also been staring off into space with his hand resting on his stomach, though Lance didn’t point it out. He just wanted to be there to support his mate in whatever he chose.

“This could be an answer,” Lance finally said, voicing what they were no doubt both thinking.

“Maybe.” Keith looked at him unsurely. “We’ll deal with the Galra, and if these guys are trustworthy, maybe I can sneak off and ask about it, if you cover for me.”  
  
Lance would rather go with him, but he still understood, nodding his head. “Whatever you need.”

“And you’re okay no matter what I decide?”

“Of course I am,” he answered vehemently. Sure, he had his own opinions and thoughts, and maybe he’d do things differently if he was the Omega, but he was _not_ going to tell Keith what to do with his own body. The thought was disgusting.

“Sorry,” Keith replied, apparently catching on to the fact that Lance was feeling a little bit insulted. “I just wanted to make sure. Communication, right?”

The Alpha couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah. Communication.”

“Oh.” Keith straightened up and pressed a couple buttons, motioning for Lance to do the same.

“Now’s not the time for flirting guys,” Hunk teased them when they were both fully back on comms.

“It’s always the time for flirting,” Lance replied immediately. “Don’t worry, we got this. The plan is solid as long as _someone_ doesn’t do anything risky or stupid.”

“No names,” Pidge pipped up.

The first part of the plan was relatively simple. They used the ten moons around Saricinae to run interference with the Galra ships and scanners before hiding their lions in the caves of the vast white mountains that surrounded a massive, white city. 

From there, they walked on foot, something that Lance didn’t exactly appreciate. He could handle it, but he still made a big deal out of it, drawing attention to himself and complaining the whole way there.

“Lance,” Allura snapped.

“I’m just saying, we could have parked closer,” Lance insisted, inching close to Keith. “You agree, right?”  
  
“You’re ridiculous,” Keith replied, unable to hide the fondness in his voice. When everyone turned away he mouthed ‘thank you’, and Lance beamed. He was happy about the fact that his mate realized he was acting like a complete drama queen to a. voice his displeasure at the fact that his pregnant mate had to walk so far without saying that his mate was pregnant, and b. drawing attention onto himself for the same reason.

It was worth the eye-rolls and disdain.

The Saricians were a bit startling. They were tall creatures, taller than the Galra, with spindly, long arms and legs, long, skinny bodies without any visibly gender traits, bald heads, tiny mouths, with large silver eyes and white skin. Everything they wore was the same colour of white. The only way to tell one from another were the coloured bands around their wrists.

They were very soft spoken and sweet-toned, and very curious creatures. They were pacifists, not wanting to cause any injuries when they were known for healing them, but the Galra hurt so many that they wanted them gone. That was when they reached out to Voltron.

“Slender Man,” Pidge whispered from where she stood with Lance and Hunk. Allura was speaking to the Sarician Prime Minister (the only thing different about them was the fact that the bands around their wrists were white), Keith staying at her side, the dutiful Black Paladin.

“Oh my god,” Hunk muttered, his eyes going wide. “What if one of them managed to get to Earth?”

“Slendy doesn’t heal people and wears a fancy suit,” Lance pointed out. “Sides, he’s fake.”

“You just keep saying that because you screamed so loudly when we played Slender that the Hall Monitor thought someone was getting murdered,” Hunk pointed out, side-eyeing him.

“Bro, no,” Lance said, completely betrayed as Pidge laughed.

“You’re all quite young and filled with life, are you not?” A quiet, sweet voice asked, startling them all. They looked up to see another Sarician, this one with pink bands, standing nearby, eyeing them curiously.

“Uh, yeah, we are I guess,” Hunk answered. It wasn’t lost on Lance that he was shifting slightly so that he was between the alien and his friends, always the diligent Pack Leader.

“That is good to see. So many involved in war lose the joy you have. It is one of the many reasons our race does not war with others,” the Sarician said. “We do not want to see anyone hurt.”

“But you do want us to stop the Galra,” Lance pointed out. “Which could end up hurting lots of them.”

“This is true,” the Sarician agreed. “However, statistically there lies much more health and happiness with Voltron.”

“Lance, Pidge, Hunk,” Allura called out to them. “Come here for a moment?”

They hurried off, the other Sarician following them curiously.

“What’s up?” Pidge asked curiously.

“The Prime Minister has a request,” she said, not sounding too pleased about it.  
  
“Yes,” the soft spoken alien said. “While your mission progresses, I would request that the Black Paladin stay with us for protection.”

Hunk and Pidge exchanged sharp looks, and Lance’s gaze instantly shot towards Keith. He watched his mate narrow his eyes slightly, as if trying to parse out the situation. He had pretty good instincts for if something smelled dirty or not. So did Lance, for that matter, and honestly, he wasn’t getting bad vibes from these guys.

“I’m okay with it,” Keith said before anyone could protest. “Odds are once they catch on they’ll come for the Prime Minister, right? Better to leave someone with them.”

“Keith was going to be our backup anyway,” Lance pointed out, wanting to support his partner. Besides, they had designed the plan to keep Keith away from most of the fighting without it being too suspicious. Shiro had praised them for thinking things out properly and had approved.

Speaking of Shiro, Allura apparently relayed everything over the comms to him too. “Keith has a very good point,” he agreed once he was tapped into the conversation. “It would probably be best for someone to guard the Prime Minister. Everyone just has to make sure that they don’t need the back up.”  
  
“Is the castle ready with the distraction?” Pidge asked curiously.

“Ready and waiting for you to get in position,” he confirmed.

Lance inched close to Keith, and put his hand on his back. He leaned down slightly and whispered, “Are you going to ask?”  
  
“Maybe,” Keith said with a shrug, looking rather uncertain.

“Just remember, I’ve got your back, right?” Lance reminded him.

Keith took a deep breath and nodded his head.

Lance had his blaster out as they trudged towards the tunnels that would sneak them into the Galra’s main command on the planet. He cast a glance over his shoulder towards his mate, who nodded his head, and took a deep breath.

They had a planet to save.

…

“We are quite good at reading body language,” the Prime Minister said to Keith as they watched the other Paladins disappear into the tunnels with their Sarician guides. “You didn’t wish for them to know.”  
  
“Know what?”

“About the fetus,” they noted, and Keith looked around with surprise. “It is not for my protection that I requested you stay. It was for yours.”

Keith eyed the Prime Minister and Pink Bands behind them before sighing. “How can you tell?”

“We have the ability to see and understand genetics,” Pink Bands informed him. “We can see the beautiful way your Galra and human DNA weaves together to create something so unique. We can see the cells growing and developing in your womb. Also the…imbalance in your blood”

Keith took a deep breath and then asked, “And…would you know a way to…stop that?” He grimaced a bit at his own words. He was asking a passive culture if they could perform an abortion, which didn’t seem like something they’d do.

“Of course,” the Prime Minister said, startling him with how simple and straight forward it sounded. “It is a simple, common medical procedure that we have done on many species, our own included. It’s perfectly safe, painless, and you can be healed from any symptoms within a varga. We could also provide you with a substance to help with this…” They narrowed their eyes at him. “…iron deficiency that you have. It’s much better to treat something such as that over a period of time.”

His mouth opened and closed. This was his answer. No one else would have to know at all. He could get the procedure done, and might possibly even be healed before he met up with everyone else again. They could move on like nothing had ever happened.

“Would you like us to show you how it’s done?” Pink Bands asked. “We have a facility very close to here that is highly safe. The Galra do not bother with small ones.”  
  
“Show me?” Keith wasn’t able to hide his alarm. Were they going to do an abortion on someone else and let him _watch_?  
  
“Through projections.” They looked towards the Prime Minister. “Would you accompany us, Your Grace?”  
  
“Of course. This Paladin is my protector,” they agreed. “Now come along.”

Keith thought it was more than a little weird that someone called ‘Prime Minister’ was also called ‘Your Grace’, but who was he to judge another alien’s culture?

They made their way to another white building. How anyone could tell the difference, he didn’t know. Keith wasn’t known for his vast colour pallet, but he really missed seeing things that weren’t white.

“Earlier you said that you could see my Galra genetics,” Keith said as they came into the building. “You called it beautiful? Doesn’t it repulse you?”

“The actions of their Emperor and military are unforgivable,” the Prime Minister said. “As a species though, Galra are perhaps one of the most beautiful and varied. They adapt to every environment, yet are all still the same genetically. There is no sub-species.”

Keith thought about that. He supposed it was kind of like how humans located in different places around the world had distinctive features based on adaptations, but in reality they were all still the same. The Galra were a more extreme example, since their species spanned hundreds of planets.

That was actually pretty cool, now that he thought about it. It also explained why some Galra looked like cats, some like bats, some like fish, and some like lizards.

A few other Sarician stared at them when they entered the facility. Keith did a once over of it, but still didn’t have a bad feeling about it. He genuinely didn’t think that this was some kind of trap, and he could still feel Black brushing against his mind like a protective shield – like Shiro used to be.

“Please stand here, Black Paladin,” the Prime Minister said, motioning towards a glowing (white) circle on the floor. Keith cautiously stepped onto it, his hand resting by his thigh if he needed to grab his bayard.

Light surrounded him for a moment, before shifting into shapes in front of him. He blinked with surprise as the white light broke into colours to show different things. Pink Bands took him through the step-by-step process, which actually seemed really simple, but something else had caught his attention.

His hand reached out to one of the holographic images, staring at it curiously. It kind of looked human, but in a wonky, not fully-formed way. They must have used a genetic fetus image for this.  
  
Except how was that possible? They were literally the only people that the Saricians had ever met before.

He suddenly realized that Pink Bands had topped talking, and his attention snapped back to them. He looked from one alien to the next before saying, “Sorry.” He hesitated, not knowing if he wanted an answer to not, but decided to go for it anyway. “Is this…?” He motioned to the projection.  
  
“That is a direct projection of your fetus. The projection is, of course, larger than the real thing.” A smaller one appeared alongside it. “That is the real size.”

Keith’s breath left him, and he stared at the projections again with wide eyes. _This_ was what was inside of him right now? It was so _small_ but of course it was, it was impossible to see it yet, so it would have to be.

He opened his mouth to say something when an explosion interrupted him. The ground shook, and they looked outside to see that a Galra ship had slammed into the ground. Looking up, Keith could see a fierce battle very high in the sky between the castle and Galra fighters.

“Aren’t you going to help them?” Keith asked, motioning towards the ship.

“There is no one living on that ship,” Pink Bands noted.

“Most are piloted by sentries,” the Prime Minister added. “We have time to do the procedure, if you so wish.”

Keith looked towards the sky. Is that what he wanted? To go back to fighting like that with the others? He absolutely wanted to be genuinely _useful_ , not a burden or a waste of space. It was the one that made sense, the right choice, so why was he acting like this was difficult?

This was his best chance for this, so he needed to decide what he wanted to do with himself. Go through with the procedure while he could. Even if somewhere like Olkarion could do the same procedure, he doubted that they’d do it as well or with the quick recovery time. This was his moment to choose.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was silent for several moments before opening his eyes and turning to the Saricians.

He had made his choice.

…

Lance didn’t get the chance to see Keith after the battle until everything was secure and he could escort the Prime Minister to the command center, and that had taken nearly the entire day. Still, they didn’t need their lions, so that was a bonus. They had brought them onto the planet just in case, but apparently they were getting _good_ at this whole thing and didn’t need to resort to Voltron. That was kind of amazing in and of itself.

The Saricians were grateful that their planet was free from the Galra, and eagerly agreed to be a part of the coalition, but only in a medical sense. They also wanted to thank their saviours, and invited them for a rather bland-looking feast that tasted absolutely amazing.

“Goodness, you seem to be perfectly made, aren’t you?” Lance looked over, seeing that the question was directly at Shiro (who had joined them along with Coran), by a group of Saricians. He snorted loudly, ignoring Shiro’s glare, and headed towards Keith.

His mate was leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of him, staring off into space. Keith had remained fairly silent through all the earlier proceedings, using short, clipped responses when asked questions, looking fairly pale under his helmet.

Lance leaned on the wall beside him. “Hey, do you want to go for a walk? Or find somewhere to sit?”  
  
“Yeah, sure,” Keith said, pushing off the wall. “Sitting would be good. They gave me something to help with my anemia, and it’s kind of gross, so I’ve been hiding here.”

“You’re hiding here because of medicine is gross?” Lance asked, a smile rising on his lips.

“They keep asking me if it’s okay. I’m thankful they gave me the tablets and that Coran can make some from them, but they’re also disgusting and I don’t know how to nicely tell them ‘thanks they suck’ so…yeah.” Keith looked at him helplessly, and Lance couldn’t stop himself from laughing loudly.

Still chuckling, he rested his hand between Keith’s shoulder blades as the two of them walked over to where some chairs had been placed. He hauled two of them over to a rather secluded corner, sitting as close to Keith as he could. His blue eyes traced the Omega’s features, wishing that he could smell him right now so he had an idea of what he should say. The laughter and smiles were gone, both of them looking at one another seriously.

 “So,” he said a bit awkwardly, “that’s that then, huh?”

Keith looked down at the floor, shoulders hunching in. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no. You have _nothing_ to apologize for, okay? It was your choice. Are you feeling okay? I mean, from the tech they have here and the way they healed Pidge’s cut in seconds I assume that they would have healed you too but I—“

“Lance,” Keith interrupting, just staring at him. “I didn’t do it.”

Everything froze for a second around the Alpha. He blinked several times as he processed that. “You…what?”

“I didn’t do it.” Keith shook his head, looking down at the floor. “I—I know it would have been the _smart_ thing to do, what I _should_ have done, but I—I decided that I didn’t _want_ to. Maybe that makes me selfish but I—”

“No,” Lance cut him off. “Keith _no_. That does not make you selfish. It’s the most unselfish thing in the world. And…and you’re _sure_ it’s what you want?”

“I thought about it a lot,” Keith admitted almost shyly. “I know it was the smart thing to do and I should have done it, and there’s nothing shameful or wrong about it, but I still didn’t _want_ to. I don’t even really know why. I guess maybe that makes me a bad person.”

“If anyone ever tells you that, point me at them. I’ll figure out a way to make my bayard into a sword just so I can stab them,” Lance said defiantly, earning a light laugh from his mate. He hugged Keith close. “If it’s what _you_ want, then it’s the right thing. And I’m going to be with you every step of the way, okay?”

“Okay.” Keith leaned against him. “I’m so tired, and I didn’t even really do anything today.”

“It was a long day for everyone, including you. You made a big, life-changing choice, so yeah, it counts.” Lance nuzzled him as best as he could. “Come on, let’s get back to the castle and get some sleep.”

“Won’t they care that we left?”  
  
“They can all suck it.”

Keith chuckled a bit at that before saying, “Hey, Lance? Can we _still_ keep this between us? I—I’m trying to get through to Black about Shiro. I know you’re not…happy that I’m out on missions—“ Lance was about to protest, but Keith held up a hand “—I know it’s just an instinctive thing and you wouldn’t _make_ me stay back, so I don’t care. Honestly, if we’re going to keep this I don’t really want to be on them either.” He paused for a moment, clearly trying to work out his thoughts as his shoulders slumped. “I just don’t want anyone else treating me like…well…like I’m useless like this. It’s what happens with most Omegas, you know? They…this happens and then suddenly it’s the _only_ thing about them that matters. I don’t want that to happen.” He looked at him. “The universe needs Voltron, and Black’s being picky right now. So please? Just for a little while until I get through to them?”

Lance didn’t like that at all, but he also understood where Keith was coming from. How he couldn’t see his own potential as a leader amazed Lance. It was still rough around the edges, but it was there, like a seed that was waiting to grow and bloom.  
  
He was right, the universe needed Voltron right now. He was also right about the fact that as soon as most Omegas on Earth got pregnant, they were put off-work and the only thing that anyone seemed to focus on was the fact that they were having a baby. Yes, it was a big thing, but it had confused Lance too when it happened to his sister. It might have even happened to his brother by now. He knew that Omegas were much tougher than most believed, they had to be to carry and give birth to pups, and he could only imagine that Keith Galra genes would work in his favour that way too.

Lance nodded his head, and Keith sighed in relief. “Good. You can help me figure out plans that keep me out of combat. I—I know there’s still a huge chance at a miscarriage. I know that. But I still want to give them a fighting chance, you know?”  
  
“I know,” he agreed as they made their way towards their lions. “And you bet I’ll help you. I’ll help you however you need it.”

Keith looked at him almost adoringly, and said, “You’re going to be an amazing father.”

Lance almost tripped over his own feet at the comment, because holy shit, that’s right. He was going to be a _father_. Keith was keeping their pup. It was going to grow big and strong inside of him and then join them in the world in about six months’ time.

He couldn’t help but smile broadly. A laugh escaped his lips, and he pulled the confused Omega into a tight hug, wishing that he could kiss him but their helmets were in the way. That could wait until they were back in the castle.

They were going to be parents. They were going to be a _family_.

“Are you crying?” Keith asked, eyeing Lance warily. “Because if you cry, I’m going to cry, and then I won’t be able to stop cause I’m an emotional mess.”

“If it helps they’re happy tears?” Lance asked as he sniffled, blinking rapidly but not doing much else to stop the trickle of tears.

“Fucker,” Keith muttered, unable to stop his own from flowing. “I hate you.”

Lance laughed loudly and hugged him tighter.

…

Being an active person, Keith generally ate quite a bit (which was why the anemia had genuinely taken him by surprise when he thought about it and not the other diagnosis he got at the same time). Most male Omegas were a little shorter and more slender than their Alpha counterparts, and while that wasn’t always the case, it was true with Keith. Still, it never held him back. He liked to push himself and train. He liked to be moving. In order to do that, it meant that he needed to replenish the energy he was burning.  
  
Despite what others believed, he actually _did_ like being healthy. Maybe it was the Omega side of him that was a little bit vain, but he liked being fit and presentable. The difference was that he didn’t prioritize that above more important things. Showers could wait, saving the universe could not.

That was before Lance was his Alpha though. He had somehow been pulled into the mess that was Lance’s beauty routine, at least in part. He didn’t deal with the facemasks and all of the strange moisturizers that his mate used, but he found himself generally being a whole lot cleaner and relaxed before bed. Not that he’d admit it, even if his scent gave him away.

Keith cared about how he looked, and he really wasn’t impressed with how things were looking lately. He had been staring at himself grumpily in the mirror. “I’m fat.”  
  
“Dude, you are still crazy thin. Actually, I’m a bit worried about that,” Lance admitted, stepping up beside him.

“I am not.” Keith pointed at his stomach. “You can see it!”  
  
Three weeks had passed since he had chosen to keep the baby, putting him two weeks shy of four months. It was really no surprise that that there was finally a visible, albeit small, swell to his abdomen. 

“You just wear your jeans so tight,” Lance replied. “I mean, they do awesome things for your ass, but you’re going to need bigger ones no matter what. Probably a baggier shirt too if you don’t want anyone else catching on.” 

The castle really was amazing. It had the ability to produce things like Lance’s moisturizers, clothing, and food-goo from very minimal materials. Keith knew this. Coran had replicated their clothes for them so that they had multiples of the same thing (none of them had complained at the time) amongst many other things, but Keith didn’t know how to use it.

This was something his reluctantly admitted to Lance, who laughed and threw an arm around his shoulder. “Stick with me, and you’ll never wear a single uncomfortable piece of clothing again,” Lance assured him with a wink.

With slightly bigger clothing, Keith felt infinitely comfier and better about himself. Though then he started thinking about Lance’s claim that he was a bit too small. It was a problem he had when he was younger (that probably had more to do with his Galra-esque metabolism than anything else).

When he ran his fingers over the miniscule bump on his abdomen, his first instinct was to exercise more, but he knew he actually had to tone that down some. Light exercise was good, and Lance had helpfully pointed out that swimming would be great for him later on (now that they knew how to use the Altean pool). More importantly, the tablets that he had been given helped keep his iron levels where they should be, but he had a higher metabolism, so he still _needed_ to eat more to provide nutrients for himself and the baby.

Everyone knew Keith could eat quite a bit, so no one questioned it. The problem was that the food goo was starting to make him sick. He thought his morning sickness had been bad, but the goo was starting to get up there.  
  
This wasn’t something that sat well with Lance. Keith loved how his mate was being supportive and protective in his own way, but he was also actively trying not to be overbearing and controlling. It was a little hit or miss, but talking it out was something they were getting the hang of.

Still, there were some things that he kept to himself. His aversion to the food goo being one of those things. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Lance, he just didn’t want him to worry. There was nothing that could be done about it.

He started eating less than everyone at meal times so that it wouldn’t be quite as obvious that he was struggling, but to make up for this, he found himself eating more frequently, trying to find things that weren’t goo, but forcing himself to eat it if there was nothing else. He often found himself gagging and miserable, but he forced it down.

Keith knew he couldn’t be picky about what he ate, but he was really craving something that just wasn’t goo. He felt like that wasn’t too wild a request at all. A part of him had kind of been hoping that Hunk and Coran would figure out something that was more meat-based, but apparently Coran just added more iron to the food goo (not that he needed to worry anymore since he had those nasty iron pills). He was honestly craving more meat-based things, but that was probably because of his Galra genetics, and meat was super rare for them to have.

They had collected and stored things from other planets, but Keith just wasn’t quite sure what was okay to eat. Weren’t there things on Earth that pregnant Omegas were supposed to avoid? He had no idea how that would work while they were in space. He was hoping those survival genes that the Galra apparently had would kick in. Though there was also the fact that some of the ingredients, when on their own, tasted nasty.

Hunk was an amazing chef that probably could make something with what they had, but there was no way Keith would ever ask him. Maybe if Hunk had known what was going on, he might have been okay asking. Hunk did _not_ know what was going on, so Keith was not okay with asking.

He _could_ have asked Lance, but the Alpha was making up for every way that he was lacking lately. He seemed to be training harder, and he was always the first one to volunteer for the most physical aspects of missions before anyone could try to suggest that Keith do it. Keith didn’t want to wake him up just to try and help him make food when he deserved to rest.

Let it be known that Keith wasn’t an awful cook. He had been alone for a year and hadn’t starved at all. He just kept things very, _very_ simple. So he set off to the kitchen to see if there was something that he could try to put together somehow.

There really wasn’t. Not to mention he didn’t know how to use these appliances to cook. He’d probably burn the kitchen down and then Hunk would be mad at him forever, and there was really nothing worse than Hunk being mad at you. Not even being pregnant while in the middle of a galactic war. It was _that_ bad.

Keith’s stomach grumbled, and he set his hand over it. “I know, I know. I’m going to get something, even if it’s the nasty food goo. So don’t make me throw it up again, okay? Your dad is going to catch on soon and we don’t want to worry him.” He had been doing this a little more lately, talking to the fetus like it could understand him.

It made him sound a little crazy. It was why he only did it when he was entirely alone.

He grabbed a bowl and went over to the dispenser, putting some of the green goo in it. It didn’t have a smell, but the sight of it alone almost made Keith gag. Still, he _needed_ this.

Deal with it, fetus.

He sat at the table with one of the Altean sporks, staring at the goo like it had personally insulted him. Keith breathed in deeply, his body tensing when he caught the smell of someone coming towards him. The strong scent was definitely an Alpha, and the lack of an instinctual pull towards them told him that it was Hunk.

Sure enough, a moment later, Hunk walked into the kitchen. He blinked at Keith, clearly not expecting to see him there, especially so late at night (and without Lance). Hunk shrugged it off quickly, smiling at him. “Hey dude. What’s up?”

“Just hungry,” Keith admitted. “Decided to look around to see if there were any not-goo things around.”

“I hate to break it to you, but that is goo,” Hunk said, pointing at his bowl.

Keith snorted. “Well aware.” He scooped some of it up and forced it into his mouth, only to gag on it. He hunched over the bowl in front of him as gagged and spit it back out.

“Holy moley!” Hunk cried out and was at his side instantly. He rubbed his back gently. “You alright? Do you want me to grab Lance?”

“So he can get all worried and pouty?” Keith asked with a groan, looking down at his bowl with disgust. “Stupid food goo.” He picked it up and moved to throw it out.

“Has that been happening for a while now?” Hunk’s question startled him, and so did the serious pinch of his eyes. “Is it the added nutrients we put into it? I mean, I get that it’s not that great, but if you can’t eat at, that’s a huge problem.”

“I’ll live,” Keith repeated. “It’s all we’ve got.”

“That’s not true. We have a lot of things.” Hunk motioned towards the storage in the kitchen. “I can try to make something, if you’d like? Between you and me, I’m getting sick of the stuff too. I was actually thinking of looking to making a food replicator. You know, how we can replicate a lot of things? That, but with food specifically. If it can work for your iron pills and Lance’s stuff, it should be able to replicate beef or something, right?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to try and cook Kaltenecker.”

“Of course not! Kaltenecker is an important part of our team!” Hunk look scandalized. “I mean, for a genetically modified cow and all.”

“Genetically modified?”

“How else do you think she keeps giving us milk?”

Okay, that was something Keith had never thought about before, but Hunk had a very good point.

“Anyway, the goo’s good in a pinch and for rations, but every day?” He made a face. “I’m not surprised that one of our bodies started rejecting it.” He looked at him. “And you know, I’m not surprised that it was you, come to think of it.”  
  
“Why’s that?” Keith asked warily.

“Well, you’re part Galra, so that makes you a bit different from us, right? Your anemia is caused by that. From what I’ve read, Alteans seem to be more in line with vegetarians, so this is probably like…vegetarian goo or whatever. I mean, the Galra do have purple food goo. It must be different, right? I should have taken some of it back with us from the ship that time we accidentally blew up the kitchen.”

Ah yes, the mission where he and Hunk were supposed to be the distraction while the others helped prisoners escape. That one had been fun.

“Maybe it’s just food colouring,” Keith said before he could stop himself. “You know, for the aesthetic?”

Hunk laughed loudly, brown eyes shining brightly. “You might just be right. For now, let’s find something to cook.”

“You don’t have to make anything else.”  
  
“Nah, it’s no problem. It’d be for me too. Besides, you can keep me company!” Hunk stared at him. “Any good at cooking?”

Keith thought back to the man pots of noodles and rice that he had made in his time alone. “Better than Shiro.”

“Shiro can’t cook?” 

He stared him dead in the eyes. “Shiro can, and _will_ , burn water.”

Hunk laughed loudly. “I feel like there’s a story behind that. I mean, it’s _Shiro_. He’s really got everything together, you know?”

Keith snorted. “Hunk, Shiro is the biggest mess of an adult you will ever meet. Well, okay, no, he had the career side down, and he’s an awesome leader, so maybe not the _biggest_ mess, but his favourite food is Lucky Charms and he once ate an entire bottle of Nutella in one go while wearing footie pyjamas. He said it was because of a dare, but I call bullshit on that. I know it was because he watched Titanic. That’s not counting the time he sat on me to get the rest of the jar.” He paused. “Shiro is a wreck.” He hadn’t been that Shiro in a while now though. Keith didn’t know what it was about him, but _something_ was a little off. It was probably just his PTSD though.

Joyous laughter echoed through the kitchen. “Oh my god, that’s great! Hashtag save Shiro from himself.”

Keith was pretty sure he knew what a hashtag was, and didn’t question it. Social media had never been his thing, and the first time he had a cellphone was when he went to live with Shiro. It was a tiny bit embarrassing when the other humans would go on about things that were apparently common knowledge, but he had no idea what was going on.

“You know, Lance is actually a pretty decent cook when it comes to certain things,” Hunk said. “Not everything though. Never believe him if he says he can make his Abuela’s famous…well anything. He can’t. He’ll mess it up and then go cry in his footie pyjamas.”

Keith blinked. “I didn’t know Lance had footie pyjamas.”

Hunk gave him a serious look. “On one hand, I feel the urge to keep Lance’s embarrassing past a secret, but on the other, you’re already mated to him and I feel almost obligated to let you know the exact kind of weirdness you signed up for.”

He laughed loudly. “I swear to not use this information against him.”

“I don’t believe you.” Hunk practically bounced on the spot, “But okay. So the first day I met him at the Garrison…”

Keith sat back, immensely enjoying both the food and the stories.

Despite everything that was happening, despite how lost he felt, Keith genuinely did love his goofy little pack.

…

“What is this stuff?” Lance asked as one of their host’s servants handed them glasses filled with some kind of blue liquid.   

“It’s made from the berries of our sacred trees,” one of the aliens answered. They were a strange bird-like race, but didn’t seem to be able to fly. They kind of reminded Keith of peacocks with their brightly coloured feathers that puffed up whenever someone complimented them. They were apparently an incredibly vain species (Pidge had joked that they finally found what Lance would be if he had a secret alien heritage).

The planet itself was rich with resources that they gladly offered Voltron access too after getting rid of the Galra presence there. The King was so grateful to them that he insisted on holding a celebration before they left. It sort-of reminded Keith of how the Saricians put on a feast for them too, but this was way more pompous and showy. The King was really getting on his nerves.

Lance sniffed the drink when the alien turned her back, and made a disgusted face. He looked at Keith and said, “It smells like burning tires.”

“Spend a lot of time around burning tires?” Keith asked, swirling his own drink around. It was at least neat to look at with the iridescent sheen it had (though it also reminded him of engine oil on the ground, which was actually a little bit alarming when he thought about it). Staring at it made him tired. Then again, he was tired to begin with. They had been fighting in their lions well into when their normal sleep cycles would start, but it was bright and early on this planet, and apparently King Peacock wanted to party all day.

He didn’t even care about learning what this species of alien was called. Keith was tired, he was cranky, he was hungry, and he was sore in places he was not going to talk about in public. At least he knew it was natural, but that didn’t mean that he had to _like_ it.

He shifted from foot to foot, and Lance frowned a bit. His free arm slipped around Keith, nudging him closer. It didn’t alleviate any of the discomfort, but Keith still appreciated the show of affection and support.

He wanted to leave, but of course they couldn’t.

Apparently the peacock-people got insulted over almost everything, so one of the Paladins, especially the Black Paladin, going back to the castle would have been a huge slap in the face to them. Even if Shiro was wearing his black and white armour and looked like the Black Paladin, they still _knew_ that Keith currently held that title.

“Oh, no,” one of the servants said, taking the glass back from Pidge. “I apologize, but this is not a drink for chics. It’s quite strong and we do not allow chics, those with illnesses, or those who are egg-heavy to have it.”

Pidge squawked in indignation, as they walked away and said, “I am literally 18 now. I am an adult. This is discrimination against short people.”

Hunk snorted at her, but if he said anything after that, Keith didn’t hear it. Instead his eyes instantly fell back to the cup in his hands, alarm rushing through him. This was some form of alcohol, which was definitely something he didn’t want in his blood – the thing that kept the baby nourished. One time _probably_ wouldn’t cause fetal alcohol syndrome, but who actually knew what the alien stuff would do?

Lance hissed beside him, and one look up at his mate told Keith that he was thinking the same thing, eyeing Keith’s drink as if it had insulted them.

“For the brave Paladins of Voltron, we offer our sacred drink. Please accept this most gracious offering as our thanks,” King Peacock toasted, holding his glass up in the air before taking a drink. Everyone else modeled this, and Keith felt a spike of panic rush through him. He got the feeling that if he didn’t drink this apparently ‘sacred drink’ that it’d be a huge insult to the people. Stupid pretentious birds.

“What are you doing?” Lance hissed as Keith lifted the cup to his face.  
  
“Faking it,” he replied just as quietly. He had absolutely no intension of ingesting something that could hurt their pup. Yes, he still accepted the fact that a miscarriage was the most likely of outcomes and was slightly amazed it lasted this long, but he wasn’t going to actively aid that along.

“We’ll turn, put it in my cup, and I’ll drink it,” Lance whispered. That was as solid a plan as any, as long as it didn’t give him alcohol poisoning or something.

He grimaced as the strong smell hit him, and his stomach started to churn, nausea welling up in him.

Coran and Allura managed to keep relatively straight faces (but after knowing them for so long he could tell that they weren’t happy), Shiro’s pale skin was turning an interesting shade of red, Lance was trying not to cough, and Hunk had tears in his eyes. Pidge seemed highly amused and no longer bothered about not being included.

“Okay,” Lance choked out, shifting a bit. “Okay, I can do one more glass. Come on.” He moved, trying to make it look like he was just twisting to talk to his mate more.

It was too late though. Keith got a second whiff of the liquid and he was gone. The glass tumbled to the floor, shattering and sending the drink everywhere, and he slapped his hands over his mouth as he doubled over. He heard the other Paladins cry out, felt Lance’s arms wrap around him, and somehow, someone managed to shove some kind of bucket in front of him to throw up in.

Lance was the one holding him, but he was pretty sure that a different person was brushing his hair out of his face. There was talking around him before he was pulled up straight and led out of the room.

Keith was vaguely aware that Lance’s arms were firmly around him, and after a moment, he recognized that Hunk was hovering around them nervously as Pidge led the way back to the castle. He didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to him was the bucket he was clutching to his chest. He threw up two more times before they got to the castleship, and they left the bucket outside for some poor soul to find. This was entirely unfair. His morning sickness was supposed to be _gone_.

“Are you okay now?” Lance asked, slowing to a stop once they were inside. He put his hands on his cheeks, blue eyes searching him carefully. His entire body was tense and on edge.

Keith blinked away the tears that came to his eyes while he was sick, and looked up at Lance through his sweaty bangs. He nodded his head and then muttered, “Don’t wanna go to the med bay.”

“You just threw up for no reason,” Pidge replied, looking around at him. She placed her hands on her hips and glared. “Were you sick before we went there?”

“Maybe we should do a scan?” Hunk interrupted, sounding rather anxious. “Just in case you got poisoned or something? Or maybe it’s what you’re eating?”

A scan? No, that was bad. That was very bad. Black wasn’t done whatever soul searching they were doing for whatever reason. Keith shook his head and mumbled, “It was just the drink.”

There was a pause before Lance snorted loudly. “Are you telling me that you can’t hold your drinks at all?” Despite his apparent amusement, Keith could still feel how tense he was. His mate was a really good actor. “Unbelievable.” How he could be teasingly mocking and affectionate at the same time still baffled Keith. All while hiding his worry.

“Are you sure that’s all it is?” Pidge asked him. There was an odd look to her warm amber eyes, but Keith decided to let it go for now.

“Yeah,” he assured her. “I was fine until then.”

“Oh thank god,” Hunk said, his shoulder slumping. “You’re okay now though, right? Don’t want you losing more—” He paused and stared at Keith oddly like Pidge had.

“I’m fine,” the temporary Black Paladin insisted quickly. He didn’t want Hunk putting the fact that food goo disagreed with him together with his reaction to this. The way he was looking at him, the way Pidge was looking at him, gave Keith the feeling that hiding this for any long period of time was going to be very difficult.

It would have been agonizing hiding it from Lance like he had originally thought he would.

“Well that was one way to get out of that horrible party,” Lance said, silently encouraging Keith to lean onto him, something the Omega did without hesitation. It was comfortable. Hunk and Pidge, on the other hand, looked at Lance with surprise. He was normally all over parties. “Those guys got offended over everything! I told one that she looked beautiful and another one said that I said that to her earlier and I swear they were going to duel to the death!”  
  
Keith raised an eyebrow, tilting his head back to look at him.

“Ah! No!” Lance waved his free arm around dramatically. “I wasn’t flirting with them! I meant it in an aesthetic way. Their feathers were really pretty!” He groaned and pressed his hand to his face. That’s when Keith really clued in to what he was doing. He was being overly dramatic to draw attention onto himself. Bless him.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to be there either,” Hunk said, quickly changing the topic. “So thanks for taking one for the team, Keith? I guess?”

“Just doing my duty as Black Paladin.”

Hunk snorted loudly, Lance groaned, and Pidge slapped her hand to her face.

“Is he okay?” They all looked up as Shiro, Coran, and Allura came into the main entrance hall, since they had yet to move from there. Shiro eyed the four of them skeptically. “Why are you here and not in the med bay?”  
  
“I’m fine, it was the drink,” Keith said. “What happened?”

“Do they demand Keith as a sacrifice?” Lance joked. “If they do I might have to have words.” It absolutely was not a joke.

“Actually, they were amazingly flattered that Voltron’s Black Paladin was ill but still thought that their banquet was worth showing up for,” Allura informed them, sounding more amused than anything else.

“Oh yeah, I call someone beautiful and get in trouble, but Keith pukes and it’s an honour.” Lance sighed and dropped his head on top of Keith’s. “I just can’t win.”

The Omega rolled his eyes, and Shiro chuckled as he came forward. “You feeling okay to walk? If you can pry yourself away from Lance.”

“No.” Lance said, sounding like he was just trying to be difficult, but most likely just not wanting to be away from his pregnant Omega that wasn’t feeling well.

Keith rolled his eyes. “Yes.” He shrugged off his mate, who pouted at him. They had to keep up appearances. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Great. Come with me for a bit.” He motioned towards the door.

“Uh oh, someone’s in trouble,” Pidge teased. He shot her a look, but got up to follow Shiro out of the door.  
  
They walked for a couple moments in silence, heading up to where the sleeping quarters were. Shiro stopped in front of Keith’s room and motioned for him to go in.

Once they were inside and the door was closed, Keith turned back to find the man looking around the altered room with interest. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. It was just the drink.”

“Keith, I was watching you. You didn’t drink it. There’s no way that Lance didn’t notice it too.” Keith felt his stomach plummet. Of course someone would have seen that.

Keith’s arms instinctively went around his abdomen, and he could feel the slight swell there that his Alpha fawned over, but no one else had noticed yet. “It was the smell. It got to me.”

“Are you sure that’s it?” Shiro asked, his brows pinching together. “Maybe it’s just because I was…gone for a while, and things have changed so much here, especially with you, but I can’t help but notice some things. You’re paler than normal. You smell different. I think you’re trying to hide it, but you’re eating less than normal.” Ah, so Shiro _had_ been paying attention more than it seemed. He always just seemed so focused on Voltron and nothing else that it was a bit off-putting. “Even then, it’s like you’re struggling with that.” Well, damn.

Keith eyed Shiro warily. Did he come back with psychic powers or something? He supposed that this was it. Someone was going to figure out his secret and everyone would know that he’d been lying. Surly he could trust Shiro of all people though (not including Lance, who was his mate, therefore was Keith’s first go-to)? Then again, Black didn’t entirely trust Shiro for some reason, and he was more inclined to listen to her at the moment.

“I know stress can delay heats, and it can really end up getting to an Omega,” Shiro said, startling Keith. He put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I never thought about that when I said I wanted you to be my successor. You need to tell us if you’re feeling sick though, so we can try to help you. Seriously, anything at all. Even if it’s something like your iron pills, okay?”

Oh. Shiro thought that the symptoms were from a messed up heat cycle. He had thought about hiding behind that before, and was actually glad to see that it was working. He hated lying to everyone else, but the sheer amount of relief told Keith that he wasn’t ready for even Shiro to know yet. “I—I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask. We’re a team, we need to look out for one another.” Shiro’s expression softened. It was a look Keith hadn’t seen in a long time. “I know Lance is your mate now, but you’re still my brother. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Keith swallowed thickly and forced a slight smile onto his face. “I know.”

He didn’t like lying to Shiro. He never had. He always felt compelled to do what his older brother said without question, always knew that he could trust him. It made Keith’s heart ache a bit as Shiro left, and he made his way into Lance’s room.

Lance was at his side almost instantly. Keith smiled at him and said, “It’s okay. He’s just worried and I—I’m just tired. I didn’t actually drink any of that stuff.”

“I know. You do an amazing job at taking care of yourself now,” he agreed. “That won’t stop me from worrying though.”  
  
“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s going to happen no matter what, right?” That was very much true. Just as Keith’s instincts were already prompting him to do what he could in order to guarantee the health of his pup, Lance’s would have been roaring at him to keep his Omega and pup safe from anything that might try to hurt them. Even if it meant acting silly and drawing attention to himself.

“I’m tired,” Keith muttered.

“You and me _both_ ,” Lance said dramatically. “Nap time and then we raid the kitchen later?”

“That’s the best plan anyone has suggested all day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m also SO flattered at the response I keep getting! You guys are amazing and I love conversing and interacting with people, so never hesitate to ask questions or reply to things I may send you! It’ll never annoy me (well that’s a lie but I will be polite about it). 
> 
> So the anemia stuff keeps coming up because that and stress is basically what Keith and Lance are relying on to throw the others off for now. 
> 
> One more important thing, I’m am very much pro-choice. Keith here decided to keep the baby not for some big moral reasons that were pushed on him, or because abortion is wrong, or because someone told him to, but just because he WANTED to. Just as a person with a uterus has the right to choose an abortion, they have the right to choose not to as well without question. No one should ever have to justify themselves that way to anyone. You choose what's best for you!
> 
> One more thing that's not as important, I realize that I never told anyone what they can call me here (someone just referred to me as 'author' which is fair my sn is long). Kaylee's fine. You can call me that!


	15. Horrible Secret Keepers

Keith couldn’t exactly stop training if he didn’t want to draw attention to himself, though going up against a Gladiator that could kick him in the stomach seemed like a pretty bad idea. He sat in the control room, frowning a bit as he looked at the options there. He _could_ try to program a personalized one, but he didn’t quite know how to get it do to what he wanted it to do. He had always programmed them to be harder, to work with his instincts. He supposed that he could just go into the exercise room, but he didn’t really want to.

The vast majority of his instincts currently screamed ‘protect pup’ at him, and he knew it was going to get worse. He’s heard that mated Omegas tended to become more focused on themselves and their pups, since they had their mates around to protect them. Keith wasn’t sure how he’d end up acting, but it was another reason Shiro needed to get over himself and try to talk to Black again. He hadn’t since that first day.

“You’re going to get it on fire if you keep glaring at it.” Keith jumped and looked around at Pidge with wide eyes. She chuckled a bit and slid into the seat beside him. “What are you trying to do?”

“What are you doing here?” he responded without really meaning to.

“I was actually on my way by and saw you.” She motioned to the open door. “Not often we see you up here instead of down there.”

That was fair. Keith nodded his head and looked at the holographic screens again. “I’m trying to figure out how to program specific things in. I want to focus on new forms. Kolivan gave me a bunch of ones that would the use of my sword.” He showed her the files that he had set aside.

Pidge glanced at them and raised an eyebrow. “This seems pretty tame and calm for you.” She looked towards him. “Lance suggested this, didn’t he?”

Keith’s heart leapt to his throat. “W-what? Why would he?”

“You’ve been overworking yourself so much since you started piloting Black while not being an idiot. There’s also your anemia. Those pills you have are amazing, but they’re not the fix-all you’d expect.” The look she gave him almost dared him to argue, but he didn’t. “He was saying something about maybe forcing you to do yoga or something instead of training. This seems like a pretty good compromise.” She nodded at the files, a smile dancing on her features as if the thought of someone trying to force Keith to do anything without expecting backlash was hilarious.

Bless his Alpha’s protectiveness, but also his ability to reign that in. He’d probably been complaining to the others a bit, but that was fine. He was realizing more and more that Lance’s actions spoke where he sometimes failed with words. It was funny how he and Keith really had that in common, except he hid behind general silliness and bravado where Keith was just antisocial and seemed angry. Anyway, this was something that he could work with. “Yeah, he mentioned it. Think you can help me out?” He motioned towards the computer.

“Of course.” She nudged him aside and started working, a frown appearing on her face. “You know…I’ve been worried about you. We all have. You missed another heat, and that can’t be good for you. I mean, it would have been worse if you had skipped a bunch in a row rather than having one in between but yeah we’re all still worried.”

He felt guilt rise up in him. He hated making people worry about him (it was a strange concept as it was), but it would be even worse if they knew the real reason why he hadn’t had his last heat.  “I’m sorry, Pidge.”

“It’s nothing you can help.” She patted his arm. “Just…try taking care of yourself more, okay?” She nodded towards the screen. “Things like this are a good start.”  
  
He nodded his head. “Thanks. I mean it.” He paused. “You know, if you find a lead on Matt and need to take off, and the others give you a hard time, I’ve got your back.” A small smile spread across his lips. “Omega buddies have to stick together, right?”

For a moment, she seemed a bit startled, and Keith was worried that he had said the wrong thing. Then she laughed cheerfully and nodded her head. “Damn right we do. I’ll hold you to it.”

…

Normally Keith hated cleaning duty, he’d rather be doing anything else. There were always more important things than cleaning. He tried not to make a mess in the first place, but if things fell, he didn’t necessarily jump to put them back (his desert shack had been a testament to this).

Unlike most mornings, where he was up before the systems started brightening the lights to mimic a sunrise, his extreme bout of sickness the day before had wiped him out, and he ended up sleeping in (that was BS because his sickness had largely gotten better lately but occasionally happened). It was such a rare thing that Lance didn’t have the heart to wake him up. Though why he ended up using that as an excuse to sleep in himself, he didn’t say. The big goof probably just wanted to cuddle with his _family_. That was still odd to think about too.

So Keith couldn’t really complain when Coran put him on cleaning duty with Lance. They did sleep in, so it was only fair.

Oddly enough, Keith found that it was almost soothing to just do a simple, repetitive task like cleaning the healing pods. He kept his red bandana over his mouth to keep from breathing in the chemicals and worked without complaint. Lance was cleaning the pods on the opposite side of the room, singing some random Spanish song that Keith couldn’t understand, but liked the sound of. Lance didn’t have the best singing voice, but it wasn’t terrible by any means. It was easy for him to picture Lance singing songs to a baby that looked just like him.

Keith shook his head, grimacing a bit at how stiff his back felt from kneeling down for so long. The discomfort in his knees would have happened to matter what, but he got the feeling that the back aches came from the bump protruding from his abdomen.

Keith knew that the swell of his stomach wasn’t actually that big for a little over four months, and though he didn’t say anything about it, he got the distinct impression that Lance was a bit worried about that. Sometimes, when he thought Keith was asleep, he’d lay by his stomach and whisper things that Keith couldn’t quite hear. Sometimes he would just stare at the bump. Keith could always smell the twist of genuine happiness, excitement, and worry.

He couldn’t imagine being bigger, even if it was inevitable. He already felt like a space-whale. He’d always been tiny and skinny (sometimes to the point where it was alarming and cause for him to be moved from one house to another) before Shiro helped him get in shape, so the extra, healthy fat that was building up on his body, though not much, still made him feel huge.

And he was just a little into his second trimester, so it was only going to get worse from there. A lot worse.

He stood up, stretching out as he eyed the pods. He wondered if they’d take the baby into account if he had to go in one.

His hand fell to his stomach. He wondered if everything was going okay in there, if it was even alive.

The thought almost sent Keith into hysterics. Lance was _worried_ , and if he was worried there was probably a good reason, and he had mentioned that Keith was so small. Were his Galra genetics harming the baby somehow? Hell, he had no idea if there were any genetic illnesses in his or Lance’s families, let alone how the Galra genes might factor in (the biology books only helped so much).

When he saw the projection of the baby, he had only been shown one, but what if there were more in there and they just didn’t show him? He could have had octuplets for all he knew. Octuplets that he would give birth to only to find out that they were dead because something was wrong and he hadn’t checked on them beforehand to save them.

Keith tore the bandana away from his face because he couldn’t _breathe_. The air wouldn’t get to his lungs. His vision was blurring, though he didn’t know if it was from a lack of oxygen or tears, and he fell to his knees.

“Keith!” Lance was at his side in an instant. His arms wrapped around his shoulders. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay. You’re safe here.”

"Scan," he muttered out hysterically. "Need to do a scan."

Lance nodded his head. “Yeah, one second, I’ll grab—“

“No, not that one, I…Coran. Could you get Coran?” Keith babbled wildly.

“I’ll get him, but only if you calm down a bit.” He wrapped one arm under Keith’s knees, the other on his back, and heaved upwards. He stumbled a bit, but managed to hold onto Keith and move over into the infirmary. He gentle set him down on a bed and said, “It’s okay. You’re okay. You need to calm down, or it might hurt the baby.”  
  
“What if I already did?” he asked wildly, eyes watering.

“No, no. Don’t think like that. I need to see you take some deep breaths for me.” For a few moments, they breathed together slowly and deeply, Keith on the bed and Lance sitting beside him. Finally, the Alpha smiled and said, “Okay. I’m going to get Coran. Will you be okay on your own for a couple minutes?” His eyes scanned over his body, as if looking for an injury.

The thing way, Keith felt fine. He was just freaking out. Lance was right, he needed to calm down, because if there _wasn’t_ something wrong with the baby, his stress levels could certainly cause something to happen. “Yeah. I’ll stay right here. Promise.”

Lance nodded and pressed his lips against his forehead before sprinting from the room. Keith laid back against the pillows and closed his eyes, hands resting on his stomach.

“Please be okay,” he muttered, tears prickling behind his eyelids. “Please.” God, he kept reminding Lance that a miscarriage was still likely, but he himself was _so_ attached to the life growing inside of him now that it wasn’t even funny. If something happened to them, he didn’t know how he’d recover, or if he could. He had no idea when this started. It just kind of hit him out of nowhere.

It was odd to think about, because he had always been so, so sure that anything that came from him could never be any kind of good. That he’d probably feel nothing towards it before or after it was born because he didn’t know how to love anything or anyone. He knew he loved Shiro as the brother he never had. He knew now that he loved Pidge, Hunk, Coran, and Allura as the family he desperately needed. He knew he loved Lance more than almost anything.  
  
He knew that ‘almost’ was only in comparison to the tiny person growing inside of him, and that was terrifying. He didn’t understand how he got to this point when only a year ago he had convinced Lance to let him help with his rut, and had been so sure that the Alpha wouldn’t actually want _him_ if given the choice.

Sometimes years just seemed like large expanses of sameness where nothing ever changed. Sometimes _everything_ changed in the span of one. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

“Hey.”

Lance’s gentle voice broke him out of his thoughts, and his eyes snapped open. He looked up at his mate, who reached out and brushed his tears away. “What’s wrong?”

“Just thoughts,” Keith muttered before catching a cheeto-like scent. His eyes turned towards Coran, who was smiling brightly at him.

“Hello there, Keith. Lance informs me that you’d like me to do a scan to make sure that everything’s in tip-top-shape, correct?” Coran asked.

Keith nodded his head and looked back at Lance, who went behind him and placed his hands on his shoulders. He motioned toward the machine that Coran had used on him when Hunk had been wondering if he was pregnant (the irony of that still kills Keith a bit inside). “With that one.”

Coran stared at it for a moment before his eyes turned back to him, falling to stomach. Though the shirt would have kept the bump hidden normally, with the way it was tugged tightly underneath him, and the fact that his hands were still resting there, it was very obvious what was wrong.

The surprise that came to the Altean vanished quickly, covered by a calm smile. “Ah. I understand.” He then tilted his head towards Lance and raised an eyebrow.

“He knows,” Keith said without hesitation. It was a bit embarrassing that Coran could call him out on wanting to keep it quiet from everyone initially, including Lance.

“Right.” Coran brought the machine over. “Now, is there anything I’m specifically looking for? Any pain or odd pressure?”

“No. I just…something could be wrong and I wouldn’t know and I don’t know how to use the pods or scanners to check anything and I don’t want to have eight babies at once and—and I’m sorry.” His shoulders slumped dejectedly, and it took everything he had not to cry. One of Lance’s hands slid to his back, rubbing soothing circles there.

“Babe, what?” Lance couldn’t stop himself from asking, raising an eyebrow.

“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Coran interjected. “Keith, I need you to lay down and relax as best as you can. You’ve done this once before so you know how it goes.”

Keith nodded and laid back. He lifted his shirt up, and shifted his pants down slightly. Coran didn’t bat an eye at the bump, carefully draping the fabric onto him. It was cold, causing him to jump slightly at the touch, which in turn prompted a very light, instinctive growl from Lance, who looked instantly flustered by his reaction.

“Sorry, sorry,” Coran said with a wave of his hand. “Now, Lance, this machine is nothing to be alarmed about. Keith is fine. It’s excellent for focusing on specific areas in great detail. If there is anything wrong with the little sprout, we will know it.” He turned on the machine, and Keith felt Lance shift closer to him. That’s right, he had never seen any kind of scan before, had he?

“Here we are,” Coran said as a screen that they couldn’t see lit up. He studied them silently for a moment. “Yes, there is definitely a growing fetus in there. Probably at 17 movements, if I’m reading this correctly.”

“Just one?” Keith asked quickly.

“Yes, just one. Are multiples common with humans?”

“Two or three are common enough,” Lance piped up, his hands rubbing Keith’s shoulders, “but it’s normally only one.”

“Galra usually have more than one,” Keith said, face reddening as he clarified what he meant earlier by eight babies. “I was worried that there were like…eight or something.”

“Eight?” Lance sounded like he wanted to laugh at that. “Keith, dude, my man, you would have known if there were _eight_.”

“Shut up.” Keith pouted a bit, not liking his amusement at this.

“Not necessarily,” Coran interrupted before Lance could say anything else. “Galra pregnancies last for around 15 phoebs, which is roughly the same as your Earth months, if I’m correct. They stay rather small as they develop all of their essential organs, and then grow more rapidly in size towards the end.”

“15 months?” Keith asked, his voice rising in alarm. Was that why his stomach was so small?

Coran chuckled at him. “Not to worry. Your human genetics definitely won out here.” He tapped the screen in front of him. “Hmm. It appears that your blood pressure is a tad high, and you could do with more proper nutrients, though you’re keeping your iron levels in check, but the baby itself seems very healthy.” He tapped the screen, causing it to project something in front of them. “Take a look.”

“Take a look at wh—“ Keith stopped dead when the hologram formed into what looked like a very tiny, slightly deformed human. There were little arms, legs, even small facial features that were twisted into a grimace. It was made from simply blue lights and lines, but that didn’t matter. It was so much like the one he had seen before, but at the same time, there was clearly a lot more development. This was his baby. The little pup that was growing inside of him. He sat up, keeping the fabric on his stomach so that the image wouldn’t vanish, but he could get a closer look.

Lance suddenly sat on the edge of the bed beside him, drawing Keith’s attention up to him. His eyes were wide and watery. Right, this was Lance’s first time seeing anything at all, and Keith remembered what he felt the first time he had seen the 3D image of the baby. “Lance?”

“I’m okay,” he choked out. “I’m okay.”

Coran his another button, and a quick thumping sound started to play around them. Keith knew _exactly_ what that was. It was the baby’s heartbeat.

He just barely managed to stop from breaking down, hiding his face in his hands as his shoulders hook.

Lance shifted closer to him, wrapping his arms around him. Keith broke down then, letting the sobs out of his system and onto Lance’s shoulder. Damn pregnancy hormones.

“I shall leave you two to it,” Coran said suddenly, taking the fabric off of Keith, and putting away the equipment. “If you need anything, let me know.”

“You can’t tell anyone. Please, Coran?” Keith blurted out, his voice shaky, hands traveling to his still exposed abdomen.

“This does affect the team and Voltron,” Coran pointed out, his smile fading into a frown.

“I know, I know,” Keith agreed. “I know it does, but I just…please. I can’t—please.”

Coran’s eyes shifted between the two of them, and he said, “I suppose that I can hold off on saying anything for now. It’s not my place to make such an announcement without your permission. Let me know when it’s okay to tell everyone, will you?”

“We will,” Lance agreed.  “Is it okay if we kind of skip out on things today?” He sounded so overwhelmed that it was no surprise that Coran gave in easily.

“Certainly. I will inform everyone that Keith isn’t feeling well and you’ll be attending to him.” He nodded his head and went to leave the room. “Oh, and congratulations.” He smiled again and left.

Keith sat beside Lance in silence, before the Alpha stood and held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go back to our room.”

The Omega sheepishly nodded, fixing his shirt and pants before taking his hand. He didn’t protest as Lance helped him up and held him close as they walked. He still felt a little stupid for panicking when there was nothing to panic over.

When they got back to their room, Lance hugged him tightly. “Our baby, Keith. We saw them! We heard their heartbeat!”  
  
Keith smiled, resting against him. “Yeah. I’m sorry if I freaked you out.” His eyes fell to the floor. “I was thinking about how you’ve been worried lately, and if I’m not doing enough for them.”

“I’m sorry I worried you then,” Lance replied, running his hands up and down his back. “Wait a tick.” He moved back a bit, eyes moving up and down Keith’s form, alarm tinting his scent. “Coran said you need more nutrients. Are you eating enough? Is something wrong?”

Keith shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Food goo makes me sick.”

“Food goo, our primary source of nutrients, makes you sick?” Lance repeated slowly, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you!” Keith blurted out. “You’ve been doing so much to help Voltron and me and everyone else. I—I’ve been going out at night to try and eat more. When you’re off doing your own thing or when you’re asleep. Coran said that the baby’s healthy so I must be doing something right.” He looked down. “Besides. Hunk knows the food goo isn’t sitting with me well, that’s why he tries to make different things every once and a while. He doesn’t know why though.”

“Hunk knew?” Lance repeated, trying to keep his voice even, but Keith could smell his scent souring.

He instantly drew back and glared at Lance. “No. You do _not_ get to do that possessive Alpha shit with me. I was trying to take care of the baby _and_ you. You’re not a machine! You’ve been caring so much about the others and me lately that you’ve been pretty horrible to yourself too. You think I don’t see how you train more? How you eat and sleep less? Of course I see it! I used to live that! And you don’t get to be jealous because you _know_ I love you, and yeah Hunk’s an Alpha, but it doesn’t matter! So stop!” He exhaled and glared at Lance, crossing his arms in front of him.

They stared at one another before Lance’s shoulders slumped down. He inhaled, definitely still a bit annoyed, but willing to reach out to him. To meet half way. “Right. I’m sorry. You’re right about the Hunk thing. And yeah, you are taking good care of yourself. And—and thank you for trying to help me too. But I still wish you had just _told_ me about the food.”

Okay, Keith could give him that one. He nodded his head, most of the fight draining out of him. “Yeah, I should have. I knew I should have. I was just worried about you. Sorry.”

“We’re both ridiculous, aren’t we?” Lance asked him.

“Pretty much,” Keith agreed. He put a hand on his stomach. “This poor girl doesn’t stand a chance?”  
  
“Girl?” The Alpha asked. “Did you see that on the scan?”

“No.” Keith shrugged. “Mother’s instinct?”

“That’s phoney and we both know it. I’m going to go with boy until we know for sure.” A thoughtful look appeared on Lance’s face. “How’d you know what that machine did anyway? I’ve never seen it used before? When did he use it on you?”

“Oh, after my last heat,” Keith replied with a small shrug. “Everyone was driving me crazy by walking on eggshells around me so I cornered Hunk because he was the most likely one to spill, and he did, and everyone was worried I was pregnant. So I got Coran to scan me to prove I wasn’t.” He paused. “Pretty sure we made this guy within the week after that.”

Lance snorted loudly. “Of course we did.” He looked at Keith. “You feeling okay now?”  
  
“Yeah, thanks for keeping your head on straight.” He narrowed his eyes at him. “Hope you can do that when the baby actually comes.”

“Either I’m going to be the most amazing partner, helping you with whatever you need, or I’m going to be passed out on the floor. No in-between,” Lance assured him.  
  
Keith couldn’t stop himself from laughing. He smiled warmly at the Alpha. “You’re going to make an amazing father.”

Lance stared at him for a moment before reaching out to him again. Keith went into his arms easily, enjoying the closeness again. Then he felt something warm and wet hit his cheek. He pulled back and looked up at Lance, who had tears sliding down his cheeks. “No! Don’t you fucking cry! The spawn makes me cry enough as is! Don’t you do it too!” He could feel his own tears starting to fall again. “Fucker!”

Lance laughed and hugged him close, tears silently streaming down their cheeks, though they didn’t try to stop them.

…

At one time, Lance liked coalition meetings. When it was just Keith as the Black Paladin, things seemed so easy. Allura was the head of the coalition, there was no mistaking that at all, and though Keith was technically the head of Voltron, there had been an unspoken agreement that _both_ he and Lance kind of made up one whole leader to fill in where the other was lacking, or, at least, that was what it felt like. Hunk and Pidge were much more involved then too.

Coalition meetings had really been Lance’s time to shine. When he didn’t let his emotions get the best of him and actually thought about what he wanted to say, he was really good at motivating people and with public speaking in general.

Then Shiro came back and that balance was thrown off.

Don’t get Lance wrong, he was _glad_ that Shiro was back. He just kind of wished the man maybe took a bit more time to work on himself for a bit. Something was just so off about how dismissive he was of nearly everyone. It wasn’t like before when he would listen to others. Maybe it was just because they had gotten used to Keith’s leading style, which was more of a ‘everyone’s gotta really help me with this or we’re gonna be screwed’ where Shiro’s had been more of ‘this is my pretty solid idea what kind of impute do you guys have for it’. Now it was more like ‘this is my idea and this is what we’re doing end of story’.

Lance could tell that Keith was both frustrated and disheartened. Nothing any of them seemed to do was good enough for Shiro, and yeah, Lance got it. He had been taken by the Galra _twice_. That had to leave an impact of some form. That didn’t mean he had to take it out on them.

Coalition meetings became a bit of a headache to Lance after that. Plus there was the fact that he was always so _paranoid_. He eyed every exit in the room, every window, every representative in front of them.

Allura had everyone’s attention on her as she spoke, but Keith was right up there with her on her right. If one of those representatives was actually an assassin, he was one of the first that would be hit. Hell, Keith was the Black Paladin, the one that any smart enemy would try to take out first since the Black Lion was the head of Voltron.  
  
Even if enemies couldn’t get in, Lance fretted that the coalition representatives would somehow figure out that Keith was part Galra. He had seen the way they scowled at the Blade members, and knew that the only reason the hostility didn’t fall on Keith too was because no one knew about his heritage.

If they knew, one of them could turn on him.

Just the thought of that happening had Lance on edge. He _knew_ it was stupid. It wasn’t going to happen, and Keith would probably take out anyone before they could even get close to hurting him. Lance still fretted though.

This was _normal_ though. This was what Alphas did when their mates were expecting. They assessed the environment and situations to figure out how best to protect their mate and unborn pup. It wasn’t like Lance could take away Keith’s symptoms or could carry the baby within him for half the time.

They were safe though. Safe right now talking about how to get other planets on board, since so many thought that Voltron was a myth. Those that had seen them fight knew the truth, but they didn’t want to rely on fighting.

Now they were talking about something that sounded like airshows, and he realized that Keith was shifting around uncomfortably. It wasn’t enough for anyone else to pick up on yet, but Lance was so hyper aware of everything his mate was doing at the moment that he noticed it immediately.

“Hey,” Lance whispered to Hunk. “What time is it? Like…is it close to when we’d normally have supper?”  
  
“Yeah. Why? Hungry?” Hunk raised an amused eyebrow before bashfully adding, “Cause I am.”

Lance chuckled slightly, because yes, he actually was hungry, but no, that wasn’t why he wanted to know. He’d work with it though. “Yeah.”

“Half a varga.” Hunk looked towards the ceiling almost blissfully. “And we get _real_ food, not just goo.”

That was good. Really good. It meant that Keith could actually eat. It proved to be rather difficult to find him things that didn’t make him sick, but they were working on it, and Keith’s stubbornness always won out since he wasn’t going to let something like his gag reflex dictate how much nutrients he was giving his baby.

Also Coran had subtly given him what Lance dubbed ‘Space Prenatal Vitamins’ (“You can’t just add ‘space’ to everything that’s from space, Lance.” “Watch me.”), which was a relief.

Now that Lance knew how close they were to supper though, he found himself watching Keith’s posture more closely. He wasn’t sure if the Omega’s expression had to do with how little he liked the thought of airshows (not that he got a word in with everyone speaking over him), or if he was just feeling uncomfortable. He didn’t get sick around most things anymore (goo aside), and generally seemed a little more energetic, but usually when it got closer to supper he was at his limits.  
  
Keith never complained though. Lance had to admit that if he didn’t _know_ that his mate was pregnant, he wouldn’t have thought he was. At most, his oddness could be explained away with his missed heat since that wasn’t good for the body along with stress and his anemia. It was really the perfect cover story.

As the meeting broke for the afternoon, Keith turned around and took a deep breath. He walked towards Lance, leaning on him slightly. “Kill me.”

Hunk snorted beside him, and Pidge coughed to hide her own laugh.

Lance chuckled. “How do you _really_ feel?” He eyed him carefully, hoping that Keith caught what he was asking.

“Airshows,” Keith muttered. Apparently he had not caught on. “ _Airshows_.” The second time came out as if it were the dirtiest word that he had ever heard.

“I think it’s an awesome idea!” Hunk spoke up. “The Garrison has airshows all over, and I got to go see one. It was _amazing_. I mean, I hated flying back then but I was interested in how everything worked and that’s what got me into the engineering program!”

“Hunk’s got a point,” Pidge agreed. “I mean, I knew about the Garrison because of my family, but I could see how that could draw people in.”

“I was interested in space,” Lance admitted. “Used to look up at the stars until I’d fall asleep and wonder what was out there, ya know? I actually wanted to be a part of those airshows though once we got there.” He paused. “Guess this is my chance.” He raised an eyebrow at Keith. “Didn’t you see them before?”  
  
“Well, yeah,” Keith admitted. “I always kind of found them…a little wasteful?” He looked like he wasn’t sure if that was the word he wanted to use or not.

“Wasteful?” Hunk asked curiously.  
  
“Well, I mean, why use your resources on things for show when you can put it to good use?” Keith genuinely seemed confused about this. A pang hit Lance when he realized that he probably had to think logically about everything that he had growing up. Use it wisely, or it was gone with no way to replace it because no one cared to replace it.

Their pup would _never_ have a life like that. _Keith_ would never have a life like that again once they got home.

“Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get into the Garrison then?” Hunk’s brown eyes were shining with wonder. Lance understood why. He liked to think of himself as a Keith expert, but the Omega was still quite a mystery to the others in some regards.

Keith pointed over his shoulder in the direction of Shiro. “The school I was at went to one of those Career Fairs. The Garrison actually had a simulator there, and I used it. After that they sent Shiro to get me. That and I was living with one of those white-saviour foster mothers at the time who insisted I go.”

“White people, right?” Pidge said with a straight face. Hunk snorted and Lance chuckled. “But of course you were recruited personally.” She was about to add something else when her stomach grumbled louder than anyone would have thought possible from someone her size.

Hunk chuckled and said, “I feel you. I think I could eat for five right now.”

Pidge poked his armour-covered stomach. “Need to feed the four pups then. Let’s go get some food!”  
  
Keith had tensed up slightly, but Lance slung his arm around him. “There’s only one.” He couldn’t hide his silly grin.

“Ugh, you’re not going to let me forget that, are you?” Keith asked, in reference to his panic about potentially having eight pups at once.

“Nope.” They started walking towards the kitchen, since the meetings were held in the castle. “So, what do you think of the airshows really?”

Keith groaned. “I just keep thinking about flying Black around, spinning and flipping around and doing all those crazy maneuvers.”  
  
Lance opened his mouth to wonder why that was problem since ‘crazy maneuvers’ basically described Keith’s flying style on a calm day, but then he realized that wasn’t true as of late. That type of flying definitely could not be good for the baby. “Oh. Oh no.”

“Black probably won’t even do it anyway,” Keith muttered as they walked behind Hunk and Pidge, far enough away so they couldn’t hear them.

“I’m pretty sure that if they tried, Red would probably beat them,” Lance pointed out. Of course the Red Lion knew what was going on now via his connection to Lance. It had amused him greatly how Red decided that he’d _destroy_ (Lance had said that he projected a lot of explosions to him to make the thought clear) anything that hurt his cubs or their cub (his grand-cub?).

It made Keith smile slightly. Lance squeezed his shoulder and added, “It’ll work itself out, right?”

Keith groaned. “Stop throwing my shitty words back at me.”

“Never.” Sure, that conversation led to a fight, but in retrospect, it kind of amused Lance that Keith was so sure things would be fine because he was well aware that he was carrying their pup at the time and knew that he’d have to step aside eventually. Hence making it five Paladins and five lions again. “Well, let’s just get something to eat and sit down for a bit. We’ll deal with everything else later.”  
  
“Like that hasn’t bit us in the ass before.”

“Eh, future Lance’s problem.”  
  
“Future Keith is going to kick his ass.”

“Yes, but that’s _his_ problem, not _mine_.” A victorious feeling rose in Lance when he saw Keith smile. That was so worth the silliness. “Come on, we’ve got a little growing pup to feed.”

Keith’s smile softened. “Yeah, we do.”

…

Keith was _tired_. It had been a long day full of meetings where everyone talked over him and shrugged side anything that he had to say.  
  
It was true, he didn’t _want_ to be the leader, but Shiro kept insisting that he was. Yet two minutes after saying that, Shiro would turn around and disregard what he had to add to a conversation, or others would forget that he was there. It was frustrating. Either let him be the leader, or let him step aside like he wanted to. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently yes.

Keith loved his brother, but this was really starting to get to him. He didn’t know exactly _what_ he was doing wrong. Sure, he was a shit leader, but with everyone else helping, he had thought that things were going well. He didn’t hesitate to share his plans, because he knew if there were problems that the others wouldn’t hesitate to bring their suggestions to the table to fix them, or to suggest alternate plans themselves that he never thought of.

Now though there was really no point. Not when he was always just wrong.

He thought the airshows were stupid. He thought the concept of performances were stupid and firmly put his foot down on that one. It had been his one tiny victory. Everyone was more focused on the airshow idea anyway. Showing off Voltron itself, and not the individual Paladins, was the important part.

His day wasn’t done yet. Instead of being allowed to go sleep in his wonderfully warm room, with his wonderfully comfortable bed, and his wonderfully cuddly mate, he was going to talk to Kolivan in private.

Really though, he couldn’t say no to the Marmora leader. He had been quite polite in requesting a meeting with Keith, and Keith alone. They agreed to meet in one of the lounges, and the only reason he had been able to convince Lance that it was fine was the fact that they were in the one in Lance’s designated territory on the ship. Well, that and the fact that Keith had been very close to losing it at him.

No doubt he’d come prowling around the door eventually. Okay, Lance never _prowled_ , but he would politely peak in to ‘see if they need anything’. He wasn’t the kind of Alpha.

Kolivan was waiting for him, and stood when Keith entered. The current Black Paladin eyed the Galra warily, noting that he was holding out an arm like he was waiting to steady him should he slip or something. It was odd. Something about his scent was odd as well. Everything was just _odd_. 

Kolivan sat on the chair opposite of him and said, “I had originally intended on offering you some direct training with the Blade during these meetings.” At least he got straight to the point. “Now though, I don’t believe that would be best.”  
  
“Oh?” Keith blinked at him, a bit surprised by that. He would have had to reject the training anyway, but it kind of stung that they didn’t want him there anymore.

“We do not send Bearers on missions if it can be helped,” Kolivan clarified. “Though this is not always the case, and many times we have no choice in the matter. However, putting a Bearer that is currently expecting kits is unacceptable.”  
  
It took Keith a moment to process that, and when he did, his heart leapt into his throat. “W-what?”  
  
“Your scent indicates that you are gestating,” the Galra explained.

“What? How can you tell? Our suits block our smells!” Alarm rushed through Keith. Did that mean _other_ creatures might know?

“Normally this is true,” Kolivan agreed. “However, all Galra are highly attuned to the scent of a gestating Bearer. It is one of our greatest survival instincts.” He seemed almost amused. “You will be hard pressed to find a Giver that would be willing to harm you.”

That took him by surprise in a different way. “A Giver…won’t hurt a Bearer?”

“Not one expecting a kit. I would not recommend that you test this though, since sometimes individuals will fight against these instincts. It is in our instincts to protect Bearers that are not even ours.”

“I…didn’t know that.” Keith bit his lip. “Is there…uh…anywhere I can get more…information about that kind of thing? Galra pregnancies?” It felt so awkward asking Kolivan this, but where else could he go? He hadn’t read anything about this in the library, so those books were apparently out of date. “No one…no one in the castle knows…well expect for Coran and Lance.”

“I will have one of our medics send the information.” Kolivan nodded his head. “I wish you good fortune in the future, and know that if a problem should arise, we will be there to aid you. It’s in our instincts to do so.”

He slowly nodded his head, feeling like he was in a strange dream of some sort.

“Thank you.”

What the hell had just happened?

…

Lance was greatly amused by the way Keith was glaring at his reflection as if it had offended him. It seemed like once Keith’s abdomen started to swell, it didn’t want to stop. The small bump was rapidly growing much bigger, and it was pretty obvious _why._ There was no way he was blaming that on swelling from certain types of food, or just weight gain. No, it was a distinctive shape on his body, and it was very obvious what the cause of it was.

It was hard for the Alpha to believe that Keith was getting very close to five months. Time was flying by so quickly. It was so strange to know that he had learned about the baby when it was about 11 weeks along, and now they were almost at 20. It kind of made Lance want to cry, if he was honest.

Also his sister would have been completely jealous of Keith, since his baby bump was much smaller than hers had been. 

Coran assured them that everything was right as rain though, and Keith pointed out yet again that it was probably because of his strong abdomen muscles. That actually made sense for Lance, because his older sister wasn’t exactly athletic. It still worried him, though it was in the nature of his dynamic to worry.

Coran had also hinted that they should tell everyone else, but Keith wanted to keep it to himself for a little while longer. Lance didn’t know whether or not Black would work for Shiro again, but the elder Paladin didn’t seem inclined to try again.

In a way, Lance got it. It had _hurt_ when Blue rejected him. The thought of going back to her and trying to open himself up again, only to be rejected again, made him cringe. The thing was, he had Red now, and he _knew_ that he was going to continue to pilot Red. There was one pilot too many, but Keith wasn’t going to be able to fly and go on missions soon. As it was, he generally stayed inside of Black, acting as support or coordinating them.

It was kind of ironic, because Shiro had praised Keith for stepping up as a leader, but Keith was really just pulling back.

Lance watched his Omega run his hands over his stomach and scowl a little bit. It was adorable.

“It feels funny,” Keith said, finally dropping his hands and going to pick up a black shirt. He had gotten a slightly bigger size to hide his stomach.

“Funny how?” Lance asked, draping his jacket over Keith’s shoulders. He loved seeing Keith wearing his clothes. He wasn’t _that_ much taller, but somehow his clothes always seemed so much bigger on his mate.

“It’s like…bubbles?” Keith seemed more confused than anything else. “I thought it was gas first, but it’s been doing this for a little while now? Coran said everything was fine though so I didn’t worry.”

Excitement rushed through the Alpha, and he gently pressed his hand to Keith’s stomach. He couldn’t feel anything, but he knew what it was from the description. “I think you’re feeling them moving around.”

Keith’s mouth opened slightly with surprise. “Wow.”

“How long have you been feeling this?” Lance wondered.

“Uh, a little over a week, I think?”

“I wonder if we’ll be able to feel them kick from the outside soon then?” Lance wondered excitedly. Expecting Omegas usually didn’t feel them kick from the outside until close to 24 weeks, but the information on Galra said that they were much more mobile.

“Fair warning, that’s going to freak me the hell out,” Keith admitted, running his hand over it again, pursing his lips slightly. It honestly surprised Lacne that no one else had caught on yet. He knew the Paladin armour had this wild type of camouflaging in it (since it was designed for any size and situation) so no one could even tell there was a bump when Keith was wearing that (Coran assured them that it could only do so much though and wouldn’t work when he got bigger). If that wasn’t enough though, there was just something a little softer about Keith in general. This temperament, the way he handled things, hell, even his scent was different and reflected that. It was so painfully obvious to Lance that he was pregnant. 

Pride rushed through Lance as he stared at his mate. That was _his_ pup in there, and he wanted to preen and gush over that fact (which he did in private). He wanted to boast about it, because fiery, strong, amazing Keith Kogane was _his_ mate, carrying _his_ pup, and actually seemed pretty content with it.

Despite all Keith’s misgivings, the ones that Lance knew still hit him from time to time, the Omega seemed rather calm about the fact that he was toting another person around inside of him. It was nice to see. 

Lance couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy. It was one thing to know it was there, but knowing that Keith was feeling movements was amazing. He couldn’t wait until he could feel them too.

…

Pidge had been feeling antsy lately. It was in a strange way that she didn’t understand. It could have been that her heats were slowly but subtly changing – reflecting the fact that she was getting older. Or maybe it was because of how many _meetings_ they had. She wasn’t quite sure.

Then again, it had been happening more around Keith than anything else. Maybe she was picking up on the fact that there was something wrong with the male Omega? He had missed his heat after all. Maybe that had something to do with it.

She kind of wanted to coddle him. To hug him and keep him safe. She also always felt the urge to just…make something. It only ever happened around him though, and it was the weirdest thing. It was kind of like that time she figured out how to grow her own geodes and wanted to give them to her mother.

It was weird.

And apparently she wasn’t the only one feeling this exact same weirdness.

“What are you _doing_?” Pidge stared wide-eyed at Lance. The Alpha looked back innocently, trying to hide the fact that he had been trying to build _something_ behind him. It looked like a little prison.

“Expanding my creative horizons?” Lance smiled broadly and winked at her.

“By making a prison cell?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at the object as she got closer.

“A pris—well we gotta keep your garbage monsters in something, right?”

“You take that back! Sagan, Curie, Tesla and Kepler are amazing!” The four little creatures that had stayed with her after she found them at that space dump when they were all separated were, in fact, amazing.

“I still say they’re garbage floofs,” Lance replied.

“You’re a garbage floof! You just don’t like them because they stole your bottle of moisturizer.” Pidge paused. “And I see what you’re doing! You’re not that sly! Why are you making a prison?” 

Lance sighed dramatically. “You caught me. Keith has a prison fantasy and I’m working on something for that. He’s hardcore that way, you know!”

They stared at one another before Pidge snorted loudly. “If that was true you wouldn’t have told me.” It was admirable how much Lance and Keith respected each other’s privacy. She would have thought that they’d be all over one another, or constantly making sex jokes or something, but they were generally pretty good. Of course Lance got flirty around everyone, and Keith could get a little clingy, but PDA or getting too much info was never something Pidge worried about.

Trying to think of what Lance possibly could have been trying to build, Pidge realized that the Red Paladin had been acting odd lately. Yesterday she and Hunk had found him trying to experiment and make food goo into not-food goo.

Pidge tried to remember back to when this started. The first thing she remembered was thinking that Lance was even more protective of Keith lately, even though there was really no reason for it, since Keith himself didn’t seem to take many risks anymore. In retrospect, that was really odd for _him_ too.

“Hey, you know if something’s wrong, you can tell us, right?” Pidge looked at Lance with honest eyes, hoping that he could smell that she meant it. “We’re a pack – a family – and we’re all here for you. Keith too.”

Lance’s shoulders slumped slightly. “I know. I know. Thanks Pidge. It’s just…not my story to tell right now.”  
  
Ah. Right. That meant that something was up with Keith. While that worried Pidge too, it made a little more sense of Lance’s recent oddness.

“Alright.” She nodded her head in reply. “I guess I can ignore…this for now.” She motioned to whatever he had been building, accidentally nudging it, and causing it to fall apart. “Oops. Sorry.”

Lance looked incredibly discouraged. “That’s fine. Couldn’t use it if it broke that easily anyway.”

Pidge still had to wonder what it was. It looked like a little prison cell, and it was supposed to be sturdy and strong, apparently. That didn’t really tell her much. She watched him slink out of the room before looking at the mess that he left behind (of course he did).

“Ridiculous,” Pidge muttered as she went to cleaning. “Acting like an over protective Alpha guarding their—“ She stopped and stared at the mess that she was cleaning. About the food he had been trying to make. About the protectiveness. About the fact that Keith didn’t go into battle at all anymore.

Her mouth fell open, and she dropped one of the metal bars to the ground.

“Oh my god.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Highlights: The pigeon knows! I repeat, the pigeon knows! Also Lance tries to be cute to provide for his family but fails a little bit (a lot) at it. Keith will not be running off to the blade because it's against every instinct they have ever to put an expecting Bearer in danger. Keith is absolutely done with airshows and they haven't even started yet. Also he feels the bebe move a bit!
> 
> Fun fact: The scene where Coran scans Keith was originally the scene where Lance found out about the baby, meaning Keith would be pretty far into his pregnancy. Then I decided I didn't like it and we ended up with this version.
> 
> We are officially half way through this story now!


	16. Everything Is Black

Keith wasn’t sure if he should be happy or upset that no one had noticed anything changing with him. He didn’t _want_ to be coddled or anything, but he kind of expected people to catch onto the fact that he wasn’t fighting anymore, he wasn’t really training. He largely took supervisory roles, often managing to get Shiro in training with everyone else.

Shiro had been skeptical about this, of course, but Coran backed Keith up saying it was a great idea, because Keith excelled at fighting, so he needed to work on the other things. Shiro had accepted that with ease, even praising Keith a bit for his choice afterwards.

A small part of Keith had thought that they were all close enough now that they would have _noticed_ how different he was, because he felt like an entirely different person. He felt oddly secure in himself now, which was really strange. He didn’t feel scared about the pup growing inside of him – had stopped calling them ‘fetus’ (though would occasionally refer to it as ‘Lance’s spawn’ on bad days), something he had done before to keep a bit of distance since that was technically what they were at the moment.

Lance told him story after story about the ways his sister messed up – how he had seen his aunts and uncles who were wonderful people do completely ridiculous things. Keith might not have truly experienced what a family was supposed to be like, but he was slowly learning.

Of course, a part of this feeling could have been because he felt physically pretty good. He wasn’t sick, he wasn’t overly tired or cranky. He could feel small movements from inside that assured him that the pup was alive. Things were good.

So it kind of irritated him that no one else had _noticed_ yet. He didn’t want them to, but he also wanted them to. Lance had said it was ‘pregnancy brain’ when he tried to explain it. He had ignored him for the rest of the night after that.

What everyone _had_ noticed was how strangely _Lance_ was acting. Where Keith felt better and better, Lance seemed to be a little more paranoid and jumpy. Maybe part of Keith’s calmness came from the security of the fact that his mate would protect him no matter what. It made him feel a little bad. Only a little though.

Honestly, it was kind of funny, since Keith was a horrible actor who couldn’t hide his emotions to save his life, and Lance was a very good actor highly adept at hiding what he wanted to, unless something got on his nerves.

At least Lance and Coran had stayed quiet for now. Keith had basically begged them to, just until Black made their decision about what they wanted to do. They kept telling him just a little while longer, but Keith had no idea what they were waiting for.

They all trusted Black though. That had been the thing that gave Coran comfort in keeping quiet. He trusted the lions to know what was right.

Lance stuck close to him, helping cover the fact that he wasn’t actively participating in missions much anymore. Keith rarely ever left the Black Lion during missions, often acting as support. For what it was worth, Black seemed very pleased by this. It made it easier to protect him like they promised.

For the most part, though everything in Keith’s world had changed, nothing really had. Nothing in front of the others, anyway.

“Keith,” he heard Shiro’s unimpressed tone echo through the comms, grimacing when he realized that it was on the open one so everyone could hear. “Black was supposed to loop in and around the rest of the lions.”

“They don’t want to,” Keith replied through gritted teeth. His happy mood was absolutely shot thanks to these stupid airshows. Black was being wonderfully stubborn about this, refusing to flip end over end no matter what anyone else said. They had vowed to keep Keith and his pup safe, and they were going to do it. Everyone else was pretty unimpressed with this though.

He also knew it looked really bad – like Black was purposely ignoring him. Well, they were, but he knew _why_ and actually did appreciate it.

“Black is the most…regal of the lions,” Coran spoke up almost hesitantly. “When I choreographed this, I hadn’t taken into account what the lions themselves might want to do. It was foolish of me. We can work with this if Black doesn’t want to flip or do loops.”  
  
Bless Coran and his adaptability. Him knowing had made Keith’s life so much easier. They were actually able to pull off the routine after that.

He felt utterly ridiculous, if he was honest. At least he could hide within Black though and didn’t have to deal with this face-to-face. Mind you, there was a meet and greet with the Paladins afterwards, but Keith never went to those. It was something else for others to growl at him about, but he knew other aliens could detect his pregnancy depending on the species, and he was _not_ risking it. Everyone else could call him moody and bitchy if they wanted to.

Unfortunately for him, Shiro wasn’t having any of this today, cornering him just outside of Black’s hangar.

“Keith,” Shiro spoke sternly. “I need to talk with you.”

“Not now, Shiro,” he groaned. He could already feel the headache that was just starting to dig its way into his head. He needed to get some fluids into himself and maybe some food.

“Yes, now.” Shiro blocked off his exist, instantly putting Keith on the defensive.  
  
The first time that he had met Shiro, Keith had been terrified of him. He had been a short, skinny brat in school, and here was this muscular adult coming to talk to him specifically when he was already in the principal’s office for something that wasn’t his fault. After that, he had been wary of him, but never afraid.

In that moment, Keith felt more afraid of the Beta than he ever had in his life. His entire stance was stern and aggressive, clearly ready for whatever fight he expected Keith to put up. That was a bit stupid, since he tended to listen to him without question. Or he used to, at least.

“You need to stop this,” Shiro spoke sternly, eyes boring into him. “I know you don’t like the shows, but the coalition is important.”

Keith was completely on edge at this point, his heart racing as a small part of his mind only registered ‘large mad person that could hurt pup’, prompting his fight, flight, or freeze instincts. “So figuring out what Lotor’s up to, after not having seen him in months, isn’t important?” Okay, apparently he was going with fight this time. Sorry baby, mama’s blood pressure was probably going to skyrocket for a little bit.

“You are the Black Paladin of Voltron. It looks bad if you keep disappearing.”

“Then why don’t _you_ be the Black Paladin if I suck so much?” Keith wanted to snap, but it came out as more of a plea than anything else.

Shiro breathed heavily, shoulders rising slightly. “I’m not saying that.” Keith scoffed. “I’m not. And that’s not the way this works. I’ve accepted that this is my role now. You need to accept yours.”

Keith huffed angrily. “I’m—” He stopped in his tracks, realizing what he was about to blurt out. No, he couldn’t tell Shiro right now. He didn’t know why, he should be able to trust Shiro, but he couldn’t. Maybe if things had been different, if he didn’t have his pup to consider, he would have given in to his habit of trusting Shiro above all else, but this was his reality.

His mate and, most importantly, his baby came first.

“What?” Shiro demanded.

“I’m not you. I know it sucks, but you need to try again. Black misses you. I know they do. I’m not—I can’t be…Shiro…please.” His voice rose with distress.

Shiro sighed and shook his head. “You need to accept that you are Black’s true Paladin now, Keith. You need to start acting like it. You never wanted to be coddled like an Omega before. I don’t know why you want to be now.” He turned to leave. “Go hit the showers and think it over.”

Keith felt something painful rise up in him as he watched Shiro go. His hands shook and he took a deep breath.

He needed to get out of there before he absolutely broke down.

…

Lance jolted with shock as Keith _stormed_ into their room, casting a quick glance his way before _throwing_ his helmet at the wall farthest from him. He started scrambling to get the rest of it off, eyes rimmed red as tears fell from them.

He shot up from the bed, hovering by Keith’s side but not yet touching him. “What do you need?” He wasn’t about to ask ‘what’s wrong’, that tended to set Keith off more than anything else.

“What the ‘fuck’ is a _true_ Paladin? Huh? That’s stupid.” He held his arm out to Lance, who helped him get the armour off of there, the Alpha silently slipping to his other arm to get that off too before helping with the rest. “Look at you. Just because you’re absolutely amazing with Red doesn’t mean that you weren’t legitimately Blue’s Paladin! You weren’t just a seat-warmer for Allura or anything. You were the Blue Paladin. The true one. Now you’re the ‘true’ Red Paladin. Shiro is full of shit!”

Lance tried to process this, coming to the conclusion that Shiro and Keith apparently had some kind of blow-out. He’d be lying if he said that he hadn’t seen it coming. Keith had been a reluctant leader at best, but he still stepped up after a rough start. His priorities were definitely shifting recently too. “Well,” he spoke up, realizing that Keith was done, but still fuming, “by that logic it means that Zarkon, Shiro, and you are all true Black Paladins.”

“Zarkon used to be,” Keith pointed out, pausing when Lance helped him pull the armour over his head. “Black rejected that bond for Shiro and now…wait…Black rejected Zarkon for Shiro.”

“They did.” Lance eyed his mate warily, helping him peel off his under armour. “And they rejected Shiro for you.”

Keith was staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “So maybe I can do something that would force Black to reject me for Shiro!”

“Keith,” Lance spoke, his voice taking on a stern tone. “Babe. My mate. The moon to my stars. The rainstorm in my desert. The mother of my child. You know I would never be the controlling Alpha that puts their foot down—“  
  
“Exactly,” Keith interrupted.  
  
“—But sorry, I’m putting my foot done,” he continued on without missing a beat. He ran his hands through Keith’s hair, brushing it out of his eyes. It was getting long. “That’s your _stupidest_ idea yet. You’re not doing that. Black can exist with more than one bond. You’re not going to interfere with Shiro like Zarkon did. Like you said, there’s no one true Paladin, right?”

Keith glared at him hotly, but it only lasted for a moment before he sighed. “Yeah, I know.” His hand pressed against his stomach. “But I _can’t_ be a Paladin for much longer. Maybe Black would work for him now. They know I can’t keep doing this for much longer. He’s just being so miserably stubborn!” A slightly distressed whimper escaped his lips. “I don’t want to hurt them and you know me I’ll end up doing something stupid.”

“You won’t,” Lance insisted without a moment of hesitation. One hand rested on Keith’s cheek, the other on top of his hand on his abdomen. “Okay, first, permission to lock you in here if you’re about to go psycho?”  
  
Keith paused and stared at him, his worry dissipating just a bit before a slightly amused smile appeared on his face. “Permission granted.”  
  
“I’ll get it in writing and stick it to the door if it happens so you can’t be mad at me.” Lance’s thumb brushed over the skin on his cheek affectionately. “But I doubt you would now. You’re already a good parent, you know.”  
  
Keith’s eyes widened slightly. “I…I’m not…”  
  
“You are,” he insisted, hoping that his scent portrayed just how honest he was being. “It’s obvious that you love them a lot. And I love both of you a lot.” Lance sighed and leaned his forehead against Keith’s. “What can I do to help right now?”

There was a subtle flutter to Keith’s eyes, and his voice sounded almost teary as he said, “You’re doing it now.” He focused directly on Lance’s own eyes again. “I love you too, you know.”

Hearing that would forever make something warm well up within Lance. He smiled brightly and gently pecked his lips. “I know you do.” He pecked him again. “And I want you to put Shiro out of your head for now, okay? I know it’ll be hard, but…”  
  
“It’s bad for the baby,” Keith finished for him.

Lance’s brow furrowed. “Well, yeah. I was going to say for you though.” He rubbed Keith’s shoulders and then smiled. “You’re not just an incubator.” He kissed him again.

Keith smiled at him so warmly, that Lance thought that he would melt. He couldn’t help but be proud of himself, since the Omega had come into the room absolutely raging. He really did love him.

…

The command deck was normally a very busy place. Somehow though, Keith found himself alone there, going over a couple of incomplete star maps. Hunk was working on something with Yellow (he had stolen Lance to ‘help’ him); Allura was training with Coran; Shiro wasn’t feeling all that well, being plagued by headaches all morning, so he was supposed to be in his room asleep with the mice guarding the door, ready to report to Allura if he left; and Pidge had vanished into the vents a while ago (he decided not to ask).

“Look at that,” Keith muttered. These were odd-looking patterns of quintessence trade and intel from the Blade, and no one knew quite what to make of them. They were so varied and random. “I have a bad feeling about this. A really bad one. Then again, my instincts have been off lately. Probably why I don’t fit with Red anymore either.” He rubbed his hand over his stomach.

When he was alone, Keith more often than not found himself talking to the baby. He never used a ‘baby voice’ like Lance did when he would curl up by his stomach at night. Lance had thought it was sweet that he talked to the baby so much now. That was until he realized that Keith would often rant to them, which was a little less cute.

That was fine. Keith could keep the cutesy things between him and the pup.

He huffed at the star map and said, “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to do what I can to keep you safe, okay? A part of me wants to run, to take off to somewhere safer, but there really isn’t anywhere safe, is there?” He slid his hand along his stomach. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

“Who’ll see?”

Keith swore that he felt the baby jump inside of him, he was _that_ startled by Pidge’s voice. A yelp escaped his lips, and he knocked a data tablet off of the table when he went to instinctively grab his knife, one arm protectively moving in front of his abdomen.

“Calm down, Killer,” she said dryly as she sat beside him.  Her sienna eyes seemed to burn into him as she asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Just fine. Why?” he asked, still trying to calm his racing heart.

“Well,” Pidge pushed her glasses up slightly, “you’re rubbing your stomach for one.”

Keith forced himself not to look down, because yes, he most definitely was. Lance had pointed it out to him, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing it. “Ate too much,” he said simply. Damn, that sounded bad even to him. He really sucked at lying. Like, never let him have to be a spy that has to blend in with the ranks or something in the future.

“I doubt that,” the other Omega noted, sitting in the chair by him and looking at the star map. “You’ve been pretty picky lately.”

He pursed his lips, eyebrows furrowing. “I don’t know what—“

“Are you pregnant?”

Had he been saying that he was disappointed no one noticed at one point of time? He took that back. His entire body froze, and he blinked several times at her. “Huh?”

She was still looking at the star map. “Lance was trying to build something that I thought was a prison cell, but I realized later that it was probably a crib.” She paused and turned her knowing gaze to him. “No need to make that if there’s nothing to go in it, right?”

Keith eyed her, and realized that he had a choice to make. He wasn’t ashamed that he was pregnant, though the timing could be so much better. It wasn’t like it was scandalous thing or something. Even back on Earth people simply would have say ‘oh okay’ because it fit the norm so terribly well. Alpha and Omega get together, mark each other, have baby.  
  
It was more complicated than that though, and Keith didn’t really want to keep making it even worse. “Yeah, I’m pregnant.”

Pidge actually fell off of her chair. He leaned forward to make sure that she was okay, but she quickly pulled herself back up. “Okay…well then…I didn’t plan this far ahead. I thought you’d keep playing stupid for a while longer.” Her wide eyes fell to his stomach, though he knew it would be impossible to parse out the shape of his abdomen due to the combination of his black t-shirt and Lance’s baggy jacket. “Um…so…how far are you? I mean, before your last heat obviously, so like…two months?”  
  
“….Almost five,” he answered much more reluctantly.

“What the quiznak?” she burst out. “I don’t—what?”

Keith sighed and pushed himself up. He pushed Lance’s jacket back and held his own shirt so it was tight against his stomach, making the bump very visible.

“Oh my god,” Pidge said, her voice dropping a bit. “You’re pregnant. You’re really…holy shit. Give me a minute here. I—what happened to not wanting this? Not that changing your mind is a bad thing! No, no, it can be an awesome thing! Nothing bad at all! No judgement from me!” She waved her hands wildly.

Keith stared at her, feeling the odd urge to hug her and assure her that everything was alright. It was probably those maternal instincts starting to rear up in him. “I _still_ think society’s standards for Omegas can go die in a dark hole somewhere, but I also realized that just trying to do the opposite to be spiteful was kind of dumb too, I guess? So, yeah. I guess I realized that I wanted to be able to choose whatever it was I wanted to do.” He pressed both of his hands to his stomach. “I didn’t…this wasn’t planned. I mean, Lance and I have only been together for a bit over a year now. But I did choose to keep it. It was what I wanted.”

Pidge’s eyes went wide. “On Saricinae!”  
  
“They could tell I was pregnant,” Keith admitted. “That was why the Prime Minister wanted _me_ to stay with him. I asked him about abortions, cause it would have been smart, and no one would have known cause they could have healed me before you guys got back but I didn’t want to.” He shrugged, because he still _knew_ that it was a logically bad choice, but it was still his.  
  
“That’s why you keep putting yourself in non-combat roles,” Pidge parsed out. “That must be driving Lance insane. No wonder he’s acting batty.” She looked up at him curiously. “Why didn’t you tell any of us?”

“Because Black won’t take Shiro back, and the universe needs Voltron. You know it and I know it. If everyone knows, they’re going to be more protective, more likely to botch a mission if it seems like I’m in trouble. We both know it. It’s how pack instincts work, right?”

“Well, you’re not wrong.” She tapped her fingers against the table in front of them. “I think Hunk’s suspicious too.”  
  
Keith blinked, not expecting that. “Did he say something?”  
  
“It’s more the questions he’s been asking. He was wondering if I noticed you acting different lately. I didn’t really tell him all that much, cause I wanted to talk to you first, so I just pointed out that Lance was the weird one.”

“You’re not wrong. This is stressing him out a lot too.” He looked up at her. “What now?”

“What do you mean?”  
  
“Will you tell him? And everyone else?”  
  
“No.” She met his eyes. “But I think you should. This is one of those situations where even if no one says anything, where once someone knows everyone ends up finding out. Besides, you’re not exactly…getting smaller.”

“You calling me fat?” Keith asked, keeping his face serious. It was a little funny to see her panic for a moment, before he smiled. “I’m kidding. I am well aware of how fat I’m getting.”

“Dear sweet quiznak,” Pidge muttered, shaking her head. “I am _not_ getting into this discussion. I know I can’t win.” She suddenly perked up. “Wait a tick, were you talking to the…baby when I came in?” She seemed to struggle on the word ‘baby’ for a moment, and Keith couldn’t blame her. It was still weird for him to think about at times.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course not.” She smiled at him warmly. “You know that if you need something, anything, we’re all here for you, right?”

A small smile appeared on Keith’s face. He nodded his head and said, “Yeah, I think I’m starting to realize that.”

…

That morning, when he woke up and looked at himself in the mirror, Keith had decided that the time for hiding his pregnancy was over. Where his stomach had once been flat and defined, there was now a round bulge that was only hidden by baggy shirts and Lance’s jacket that he had taken to wearing. He felt like a space-whale, to be honest. No wonder Pidge felt confident enough to call him out. No wonder Hunk was suspicious.

_“Pidge knows. I didn’t tell her, she asked me directly, and she said that Hunk was suspicious. I think…I think we should tell him.”_

Apparently the decision to tell everyone pleased the Alpha very much. Lance admitted that he felt bad for not telling Hunk specifically, and if Pidge knew and he was already suspicious, there was really no reason to _not_ tell him. Unless Keith didn’t want to, of course.

“Don’t hit me, but it’d be kind of nice to just be able to tell anything that eyes you that it’s _my_ pup in there,” Lance admitted. Keith didn’t really get it, they were already mates and there was no reason to be insecure, but apparently seeing his pregnant Omega in his oversized clothes made him very happy. Lance was weird, but Keith loved him anyway.

That was before Shiro called for them all to get suited up and to meet in command. Keith was still thankful that his armour literally hid his stomach for now, and swore to Lance that they’d tell everyone else after the mission, since it sounded like an easy enough one.

Having Coran and Pidge on his side really helped out with that.

That was how he ended up in the middle of an empty Galra base with her. Black’s consciousness was constantly brushing against his with worry. They didn’t like that he was down there, though the regal lion wasn’t nearly as antsy as Red had been.

Keith reminded Black that he didn’t _want_ to be here, that it should be Shiro, but pressed on anyway.

The mission they were running _was_ pretty simple (he got the feeling that Coran was whispering into Allura and Shiro’s ears about giving him easier missions too). They were heading into a communication station so that Pidge could try to find some more info on her family (well, they said it was to gather more info on the Galra but they all knew what was really going on). He’d be going with her so that he could use their systems to make her life a lot easier. It was supposed to be empty, and none of their scanners had detected any life. Lance, Hunk, and Allura were heading in another way to take out all of the sentries so that Pidge and Keith wouldn’t have to deal with them at all. (It was really the only thing that seemed to appease Lance).

“Activating cloaking,” Pidge said to the others over the comms. She glanced back at Keith. “Ready to go?” Her eyes fell to his stomach before looking back at his face.

“You know it,” he said confidently.

“Remember,” Shiro stressed. “You’re sneaking in and out as quietly as you can, so try not to raise any alarms.”  
  
“That means you, Keith,” Lance added gruffly.

Keith rolled his eyes and decided to not reply. He wasn’t going to admit that he was nervous. He could feel the baby moving around, and hearing Lance’s worry didn’t help much.

“We’ve got this, Lance,” Pidge assured him. Keith looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She just looked back at him challengingly before paying attention to what was in front of them.

Green landed on the station without anything taking notice, and the two Paladins carefully climbed out.

When Allura, Hunk, and Lance struck, most sentries went to that side of the base. Keith and Pidge were purposely trying to hide, not taking out any of the occasional sentries so that no one would know they were in the base too.

They got into the control room pretty easily, and Keith managed to take out the single sentry that was there by throwing his Marmora blade into its metallic head.

Pidge leaned against Keith as he started using the computer. “It’s really fascinating how you appear to be genetically all human, but there’s enough Galra blood in you to be able to do this.”

“Galra tend to adapt,” Keith replied. He had read that so many times that it was ingrained in his mind. It was a bit of a relief to know that, odds were, his kid wasn’t going to come out with furry cat ears. Then again, maybe his mother looked like once of those lizard-like Galra. “I was born on Earth and my father was human. Or maybe my mom was half Galra and I’m a quarter. I don’t know. Either way, I adapted to Earth in the womb.” His baby would be either a quarter Galra, or an eighth. He didn’t know. Though there also were some cases where a half-Galra baby would look just like their Galra parent, so there was that too.

“Been doing some reading lately?”

Yes, and he was dreading the fact that Galra’s pregnancies lasted even _longer_ than human ones, and really hoped that he didn’t fall into that category (even if Coran insisted that he didn’t). Not that he told Pidge that. Instead, he shrugged and kept working. It was something they could talk about another time.

Once he got her into the system, he left Pidge to her own devices and went to guard the door. He was feeling tired again, though normally he didn’t feel this light-headed. Keith tried to think back to the last time he drank or ate anything. The annoying beeping that Pidge was causing was a bit distracting, but he ignored it. He didn’t suffer from morning sickness anymore, but he had been feeling a bit nervous about telling everyone else. It could have just been his anxiety. Then again, they also hadn’t had the chance to eat anything that morning either.

Actually, Keith couldn’t really remember the last time that he ate anything at all.

Oh. That was bad. Keith bit his lip. Surely the baby would be fine, but he’d have to force down some food goo (gross) when they got back.

“What are you doing?” he burst out, looking around at her.

“What?” Pidge glared at him.

“That beeping. It’s driving me crazy.” He turned himself around to face her, taking a few steps into the room.

“Beeping?” She frowned. “That’s not me.”

“Wha—?“ Keith’s question was cut off by a thunderous bang from behind him. Light and smoke assaulted his peripheral vision as heat and pain tore at his back. He was thrown forward, and time seemed to slow down. He’d never be able to say how he did it, but in the split second that he flew into the air, his managed to twist around so that his arm and shoulder took the brunt of the force of his body slamming into the computer console and hitting the floor. Pain hit his arm like lightening, and the readings on his helmet said something about back abrasions, a broken ulna, and a broken radius.

His ears were ringing, or maybe that was Pidge screaming. He didn’t know. Was that Lance trying to talk to him through the comms? He didn’t know that either. His hands wrapped around his abdomen, and the only thing that he could think about as spots started to cloud his vision was that this was probably where he lost the baby. He looked up at Pidge, who was hovering over him, parts of her own armour scorched, horror in her eyes. She was trying to talk to him, but he didn’t know what she was saying. It didn’t matter.

Of course this would happen after he let his guard down a little, after he decided that he loved his baby, and excitement seemed to overwhelm fear. It had to happen the day he was going to tell everyone else, the day he was going to _force_ Shiro back into Black, like it or not. The day he decided that it was too dangerous. Of course he was going to end up having a miscarriage.

His face was wet and warm as he babbled out an apology, and everything went dark.

…

“I’m sorry! I didn’t think—I couldn’t scan…I’m sorry!”

“Hurry, we need to get him into a pod!”

“What happened?!”

“Doesn’t matter, he needs to be put in one!”

“Get his armour off of him and into the suit!”

“Uh, is it just me or does Keith kind of look different? Like…bigger?”

“Doesn’t matter! Get him into the pod!”

“It almost looks like…he’s…”

“Shiro? What’s wrong?”

“Lance…”

“One dobash. I need to scan him before we put him into the pod.”

“Coran, we don’t have time!”  
  
“Just a tick. I need to check—oh dear. That’s what I was afraid of.”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong with them?!”

“Them?”

“I need to alter the settings of the pod.”

“You already calibrated it for his Galra genes! Just put him in!”

“Would all of you shut up! Coran, what’s going on?!”  
  
“If I don’t recalibrate it for the distressed fetus, the cryopod could kill it.”

“I’m sorry…a distressed _what_?”

Keith heard small bits of the conversation, but whatever everyone’s reactions was, he didn’t get to hear, completely losing consciousness again.

…

Lance stared at Keith’s face, completely slack and pale in the glowing light of the cryopod. He looked so lifeless that it was absolutely haunting, especially since the white suit did absolutely nothing to hide the swell of his abdomen. If anything, it almost seemed to make it look bigger. Though he actually wasn’t that short, and he was in good shape, Keith looked so _small_ and his stomach looked so _big_.

“The armour protected them,” Coran assured him softly after inspecting the monitors. “Nothing pierced through far enough to hurt either of them really. Keith’s wounds were all fairly shallow. It looked much worse than it actually was in that regard. His major injuries were the broken bones in his arms, and a fairly bad concussion. Keith managed to land on his side so there was no major impact or trauma to the little sprite. They’ll both be fine.”

It was a relief to hear, but Lance still felt numb, and his eyes hadn’t left his mate’s still form. He had _never_ felt so scared before. Every other time he thought that before paled in comparison to this. He had heard Pidge and Keith talking over the comms. Then there had been a loud bang and Pidge was screaming. He wasn’t sure he’d ever forget those screams. He hadn’t even realized that he had made Red move towards where Keith and Pidge had been, though maybe he hadn’t, maybe Red had moved on his own. What he did know was that the lion had ripped the base apart to get to where they were.

There had been so much blood.

“Lance.”  
  
Shiro’s voice broke him out of his mind. He was glad for that, but he knew that tone of voice, and he did not want to deal with this. “Not now, Shiro.” His voice sounded weak even to him.

“You should have told us!” Shiro pushed on, his voice stern and disappointed. It was like having a father growl at him, though Lance’s father had a high voice that could go from low and dangerous to high and shrill. He wished his Papá was here now. She would have known what to do.

“We’re a team,” Shiro continued, “and we need to trust—”  
  
“You’re not our Pack Leader,” Lance said, his eyebrows pinching as he slowly looked up at Shiro. “You _refused_ to be Voltron’s leader again. Keith _begged_ you to get back into Black! Why should we have told _you_ anything?” His voice steadily rose, dangerously close to a yell.

Shiro seemed taken back for a moment before snapping, “Keith is my _brother—”  
  
_ “And you’ve done _nothing_ but treat him like shit and ignore his concerns!” Okay, he was yelling now. “I’m his mate! His right-hand man!”  
  
“And you did such a good job protecting him!”

“That’s enough!” Hunk stepped between the two of them, an arm held out to each of them. “Lance, you guys _should_ have said something. Shiro, you _need_ to back off. This isn’t helping anyone!” He breathed deeply, his entire body shaking.

Lance was so close to breaking down, so, so close. He sniffed a bit, and that seemed to prompt Pidge, who had been completely silent until now. She broken into tears. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Lance!”  
  
“Pidge…” Allura spoke up, her voice soothing despite the waver to it. She had been standing a bit away from everyone else, staring at Keith with an odd expression on her face, and only now seemed to be tuning back in.

“I didn’t even _think_ to scan the room for explosives! I should have! I mean, we never had to before, but I should have anyway! I knew you were going to draw all the fire away so I thought he’d be safer with me! I—I _knew_ he was pregnant and I thought I was helping but now…I’m sorry!” She sobbed loudly, sounding like she was having a hard time breathing.

Lance _wanted_ someone to blame, someone to lash out at. But that someone was not this girl that was technically still a teenager. He reached out and pulled her to him in a tight hug. “It’s not your fault Pidge. It’s _not_. Keith is going to agree with me when he gets out of there. It wasn’t you, it wasn’t Keith, it was the Galra. This is their fault. Okay?” Because it was. They were the ones that had set up the bomb.

“That’s right!” Hunk agreed, wrapping his arms around both her and Lance. “Like you said, we never scanned things before.”

Lance took a deep breath. “Really though, I should have forced Keith to stay back. We _knew_ that it was getting to be too much of a risk. Keith decided this morning that we were going to tell everyone today. Then he decided that we’d do it after mission, cause it was an easy one. All he had to do was walk with you into a room and use a computer.”

“He probably would have kicked your ass if you made him stay,” Pidge managed to choke out.

“Probably,” Lance said with a short, dry laugh. He looked up as Allura moved by them, staring at the monitors attached to Keith’s cryopod.

“Keith and his…baby will both be alright,” she said, repeating Coran’s earlier assessment. “That’s what really matters.”

“Allura’s right!” Coran piped up, forcing himself to sound upbeat. “Now’s not the time for blaming or anything like that! As you said, Lance, it was the Galra. Don’t go back on that.”

That was easier said than done, but Lance still nodded his head and then leaned into Hunk’s hug more, holding Pidge closer if that was at all possible.

“Right.” Allura straightened her shoulders and pressed her lips together sternly. “We should relocate to a safer area.”

“Quite right, Princess,” Coran agreed, heading out the door. “I’ll get on that right away!”  
  
“Good.” She turned around to look at Shiro, who had taken to silently staring at Keith. He turned his attention to her. “We’re going to Black’s hangar, and you are talking to that lion. Do you understand me?” She didn’t even wait for him to nod, turning her attention towards Lance. “I can be the bad guy to him. Keith is _not_ to go on any future missions. We will discuss what he can do when he wakes up, but I will not be putting my vulnerable Paladin or his _child_ in danger.” She stared at him thoughtfully. “We will discuss a lot later. For now, everyone should get cleaned up.”

Lance instantly let go of Pidge and squirmed out of Hunk’s arms. He sat on the ground, back pressed against the glass of Keith’s pod. “I’m not leaving.”  
  
“Lance.”

“I’m _not_ leaving,” he repeated sternly.

“It’s okay bud,” Hunk spoke up, his voice calm and friendly. “You can stay there.”

Allura’s face twisted into one of shock, and Lance could only feel thankful towards his friend’s intervention. “But—”

“You’re not going to get him to move,” Hunk explained. He motioned towards Keith. “I know humans are still a bit weird to you sometimes, and we all see each other as friendly, but this is different. Keith is Lance’s _mate_. He’s carrying their pup. It’s a _very_ different situation.”

Allura nodded her head. “Of course. But Lance, Keith is a fighter, and so are you, so I have no doubt that your child is too. That being said, you don’t have to worry, because there’s nothing to fight right now. They’re fine, and they’re resting.”

Lance nodded his head and watched as she left the room, motioning for Shiro to follow him. He breathed out and then looked back at Keith again.

They’re fine. They’re resting. He kept repeating that himself over and over again.  
  
It didn’t really help.

…

The sounds of footsteps echoing through the hall made Shiro’s headache pound worse than ever. He wanted Allura to say something, to do anything, maybe yell at him for getting in Lance’s face. He wanted something that wasn’t this deafening silence.

“I can’t believe they didn’t tell us,” he found himself saying. He couldn’t stand the silence.

“I am a bit disappointed,” she admitted, “however, I’m not particularly surprised. Keith does have a habit of putting the mission first.” She paused and looked at him sharply. “And you didn’t exactly react the best way to Lance. Keith values your opinion so much. He may have been afraid.”

Shiro felt something twist inside of him. “I didn’t mean to snap at him. I’m not really sure…” He trailed of, pressing his fingers to the corners of his eyes. He shook his head slightly. “I need to apologize to him.”

She nodded her head, pausing as they entered Black’s hangar. “That would probably be best.”

Shiro followed her gaze, his entire body tensing as he stared at the large lion. Longing rushed through him, but it was overwhelmed by guilt.

“When you were gone,” Allura spoke up, “we each took a turn sitting in Black and I felt something. It gave me a bit of hope for a moment, but nothing came from it. Still, it was almost like a reassurance that they weren’t simply ignoring me. Something in me knew that it would be Keith. Even if it didn’t make much sense to me.”

Shiro blinked at looked at her, surprised. “What do you mean?”  
  
“I was always told that Black’s Paladin would be a natural leader. That others would follow them without hesitation, and that they would accept their role with easy. That was how I knew you were meant for Black. Keith didn’t fit that at all. He even agreed with it. Though I think that had more to do with him not wanting to replace _you_ than anything else.”

He felt conflicted about that, turning to face Black again. He thought for a moment before saying, “I can see how you’d come to that conclusion first, but he can be a leader. He has no problem taking charge of small missions or being in charge of another group for a short period of time. He was like that at the Garrison too. But he also has the makings of a great leader in general in him when he grows up a bit.”

She nodded her head. “It was quite the struggle at first, but he found his way. It was very different than with you. I think he’s been doing quite well lately, all things considered.” She looked at him again. “I think he deserves some peace of mind over his child’s safety, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” He looked at Black briefly before glancing at her. “Do you mind…?”

Allura smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. She squeezed gently before turning and walking out of the room.

Slowly, Shiro approached Black, running his hands over the lion’s metal claw before approaching the entrance. He looked around the cockpit that was impressively clean, but that didn’t surprise him at all. “Hey Black,” he whispered, feeling that anything louder would be too much. He felt something, a small flicker across his mind, but that had always been there. “Um, Keith’s going to be okay, but he shouldn’t be flying around anymore, or going on missions.” He sighed and finally let the whole situation flood over him.

Shiro had known that Keith was an Omega. When they had first met, when he was working towards recruiting him to the Garrison, he had spent some time with him as an unofficial mentor – the Garrison had really wanted his talent so it was a surprise that they got rid of him. He had protected the little Omega. Had chased off Alphas that inched a little too close – taught him some more specific forms of fighting since he was all rage and instinct in a tiny bundle.

Keith’s story broke his heart in a way. He always had his mother and grandparents, but his own father had fun off when his mother was pregnant, the two of them having been unmated. He knew a tiny bit what rejection was like but had moved beyond that. Keith reminded him so much of himself in so many other ways too. His intense ferocity. His want to prove that he was more than what others saw him as. The temper he had and his quickness to hit first and ask questions later. Those were all things Shiro had contended with at his age. Maybe he was drawn to him a little more because they both had Japanese heritage (Shiro having lived in Japan when he was younger with his family whereas Keith had grown up in the United States and his father was half Japanese). The biggest difference was that he had a family that loved him. Keith didn’t.

It was impossible to _not_ adore him. When Keith put his mind to something that he really wanted to do, he excelled at it. He had so much potential and Shiro could still see it in him. When Keith was good at something, he was confident with him. Didn’t see any reason to hold himself back. Personal connections hurt him so much more. He knew how scared Keith was of being forced into a specific role as an Omega. Forced to carry a child he didn’t want. That he wouldn’t be part of a family because he’d never be good enough.  
  
It was why Shiro had been so proud when Keith and Lance opened up to one another. All he saw was improvement at the time.  
  
He felt like he should have _known_ that this was going to happen. Sure, they were smart enough to wait until they had protection to do anything, but it wasn’t always a guarantee, and who knew how the food, Altean medicine, and cryopods might actually affect that (since medication on Earth could mess things up too). He felt like he could have actively discouraged them from getting so close when he was still there. Yes, he had talked to Keith about that specifically, but in retrospect, it had already been too late, hadn’t it? When he had that talk with Keith, he had already been carrying Lance’s child.

“I’m not happy with this,” Shiro said with a shake of his head. “I’m really not. This is terrible timing and they should have been more responsible, but it happened and it would be irresponsible of both of us to force him to keep going into battle. So please Black…” He sat down and put his hands on the controls. “Please.”

Violet lights slowly flickered around him, on and off for a moment, before they all came to life around him.

….

Lance sat on the cold, hard floor, cross-legged as he stared at the monitors on the cryopod, only wavering to look at Keith himself. He’d had the pins-and-needles feeling in his leg for so long that they had gone completely numb, his armour digging into him uncomfortably. He hadn’t budged from this spot since everyone else left him.

That was his mate in there. His Omega. He’d be okay, but he had been _hurt_. Lance knew that Keith could take care of himself, but he also knew that a part of Keith was starting to like the fact that he could rely on Lance in that way too. It was just like how Lance knew that he could count on Keith to try and help with his insecurities, even if he was horribly awkward with it.

He twitched as the door opened behind him, relaxing slightly when he recognized the large shadow. He only looked up when Hunk dropped his clothes into his lap, staring at the other Alpha with confusion. “Got get a shower. Just in the infirmary one.” He pointed towards the doors beside them.

“Hunk…” Lance trailed off, instantly feeling his throat tighten a bit.

“I’m going to stand right here the whole time.” He motioned to where Lance was sitting, his face serious. “If something changes, I’ll yell. Okay? Just think, when he wakes up, you don’t want your stink to be the first thing he notices, right?”

Lance nodded his head slowly, because that was a good point. He would smell bad from the worry already, but he hadn’t had a shower that morning. He stumbled, but Hunk managed to catch him. “Pins and needles,” Lance groaned as he shook out his legs. He took a few more steps, Hunk’s arms held out just in case. Once Lance was sure he wasn’t going to fall, he nodded as his friend, grabbed his clothes, and hurried to the bathroom.

He got out of his armour and into the shower in record time. Once the water – hotter than he’d normally have it – started flowing, Lance let himself break. A sob escaped his throat, and he pressed his hands to his eyes. He had almost _lost_ Keith, had almost lost their baby. His family had almost been ripped away from him.  
  
He thought that being so far away from his family back on Earth had been bad, but it was nothing compared to this. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to survive if they had died.

He let himself cry until there was nothing left, and then washed himself. That part didn’t take long at all.

He toweled his body and hair dry before tugging on his normal clothes, leaving his armour behind, but keeping his bayard with him, just in case.

Hunk was exactly where he said he’d be, and seemed to be almost transfixed by Keith’s baby bump. Lance couldn’t blame him. It must have been shocking to Hunk, but it was adorable to him.

Hunk glanced over at him, his gaze lingering on Lance’s eyes that still burned some. Instead of addressing the redness that was no doubt there, he said, “I would have brought you something to eat, but…”  
  
“Not hungry,” Lance said with a shake of his head, his voice cracking slightly.

Hunk nodded his head, eyes flicking back and forth between him and Keith.  
  
“We really were going to tell everyone today,” Lance spoke up, a bit of shame welling up in him. “You specifically. Pidge figured it out on her own and said you were suspicious. That’s what Keith said, at least.” He had to stop, able to feel his tears threatening to make another appearance.

“Why _didn’t_ you tell us?” Hunk asked quietly, sounding sad rather than judgmental.

“It was all about Voltron. Black’s…going through some things…like they’re testing Shiro…waiting for something. Keith insisted that we keep it to ourselves until Black figured things out or whatever. I don’t know. It’s so stupid thinking back. He didn’t want to be a burden, or to have us all coddle him or force him to stay behind.”

“I can sort of see where he’s coming from, and I’m a disappointed that I didn’t figure it out sooner.” He frowned, slightly. “That’s why he’s been having a really hard time with food goo, isn’t it? I’d see him some nights eating other things or trying to eat more goo and figured out that he was basically rejecting it but I didn’t know why.” Hunk looked like he was about to cry now too.

“Yeah. It’s been hard on him. He’s been stubborn though.” Lance gazed at Keith, shivering slightly as he looked at him. “He looks so tiny in there. Like, you don’t notice it from day to day cause he’s not _that_ much smaller than me, but in there, and especially with the baby. He just…” Lance trailed off.  
  
“He’ll be okay,” Hunk assured him, his hand landing firmly on Lance’s shoulder. “And even if it takes me _days_ , I’m going to figure out everything that’s edible for humans and Galra in this stupid castle and label it so he always knows what’s safe and doesn’t have to eat that stupid goo. So that everyone can put things together when I can’t. I’m also going to try to work on that stupid food dispenser thing I originally wanted to work on – where it’ll make food for you depending on what ingredients we have.”

“Keith might just leave me for you if you do that,” Lance said. He meant it as a joke, because he knew Keith wasn’t going to leave him, but it made something ugly rise up in him. His voice lowered until it was almost tiny and shy. “Hunk? I—I’m a bad Alpha, aren’t I?”

“What? No!” Hunk’s eyes went wide and then fiery. “Absolutely not! Listen man, despite what the rich, old, white Alpha asses on Earth say, there’s no such thing as a ‘perfect Alpha’. It’s bull and we both know it! You gave Keith the chance to make his own choices and respected them, and in turn he opened up to you and matched you like real partners. You guys are honestly kind of like relationship goals at this point. I know Pidge feels that way too. Honestly, I think that you two are the best possible matches for one another. Neither of you are textbook definitions of what the old dudes want you to be. You’re both amazing on your own, but you kind of just seem to fill in where the other is rough around the edges too.” Hunk nodded at his own words.

“You were the best Alpha that Keith could have hoped for, and I’m not just saying that. He thinks it too. You can _tell_ from the way he looks at you, even when it’s clear he thinks you’re being an idiot. You’re the one who made him open up to the rest of us, to realize that it wasn’t just Shiro who was on his side. No, you’re an amazing Alpha, Lance.”

Lance ducked his head, rubbing his eyes on his sleeves. He blinked several times and took a deep breath. He could smell the honestly wafting off of Hunk, and it was honestly a little overwhelming. He just wanted a yes or no. Hunk told things as he saw it and rarely ever had time for lies.  
  
It was too much. Lance needed something to lighten the mood.

“I also somehow got him to bond with me after, like, six months, and then I got him pregnant before we were together for a year in total.” Well done mouth, that was _exactly_ what he wanted to say.

Hunk raised an eyebrow at him, but bless him, he seemed to catch on to what he was doing. “I’m just going to throw it out there, but I’m pretty sure Keith had a very active part in all of that.”

“I dunno, I am charming.”

“I know what you’re doing,” Hunk said, “and I’ll bite in a minute, but can I say something kinda serious first?”

Lance sighed, stomach twisting nervously as he nodded. Might as well get it all out. He could handle all of this so that Keith didn’t have to when he came out of the cryopod.

“Look, I’m a bit disappointed that you didn’t tell us, but not because of all this.” He motioned towards Keith’s stomach. “You guys are like…right on track for what tends to happen back home. We both know that. I mean, I didn’t expect you guys to end up this way but it happened so whatever. Doesn’t mean anything. Keith could have gotten rid of it. There was nothing forced on him that way.”

Lance nodded his head. He was right on the money with all of that. Yay for meeting the expectations of the standard life checklist that was forced onto everyone.

“Honestly, he’s seemed pretty happy lately.” Hunk motioned to Keith, and his expression softened. “We’re in the middle of a war, but it’s okay, you know? I mean, if we can’t have happiness, if there’s nothing good to hold on to, what’s the point? I think it’s easy for us to forget about that sometimes on a personal level, but with a baby around it’s kind of like a personal reminder of what we’re fighting for, right?”

Lance was completely taken back by that. “I—I never thought of it that way.” He pulled his legs up to his chest, staring back at Keith’s face. “You’re right though. I’d do anything to keep them safe, and just small battles won’t do that in the long run. Ending all of this will though.”

Hunk pointed at him. “Exactly! Look, we all know I was the most reluctant to be a Paladin. Like, if I could have turned around in Blue on day one, I would have. But after seeing how much suffering that’s happening because of the Galra, and knowing that they _could_ end up on Earth someday too if we don’t stop them, it really made me glad that I was still here, able to do something about it.”  He motioned towards the baby bump. “There’s a little life in there that could either grow up knowing war for their entire life, or if we work hard for them, will never have a single memory of it. They can be home on Earth and never have to worry about the Galra. It’s a good reminder, you know? It’s someone right here that completely depends on all of us – you and Keith more than the rest of us – obviously. We need to keep fighting to save everyone, yeah, but on the bad days, we can at least keep fighting for that one little person right there.”

Lance let his tears fall again and nodded his head. He would absolutely fight for them with everything that he had. He wanted them to be safe and happy, to know what it was like to swim in the ocean and see Earth’s constellations. He wanted them to never have to worry about purple aliens taking over the world.

The two Alphas sat in silence for a while, before Hunk suddenly said, “I forgot. I heard Coran and Allura talking about going over the castle defenses and what can be altered and changed. They were thinking of going to Olkarion to make sure all shields and defense systems are top-notch. That’s probably where we’re off to next.”

Lance nodded his head, relief welling up in him. They weren’t alone with their secret anymore. Everyone else was here to help them.

Just maybe everything would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the people who say that I love my cliffhangers, this chapter was originally supposed to end with the explosion and that was it. Then things got switched around, scenes were moved, scenes were added and expanded. 
> 
> To summarize: Keith's emotional. Shiro's a jerk but is also confused pity him. Lance is a great Alpha. Pidge knows what's up. They go for a walk. Boom. Angst. 
> 
> Also I got this chapter out so soon because I did a crazy amount of writing this weekend (wasn't feeling good enough to really go anywhere). Don't expect updates like this every day!


	17. Reaching Out

“Keith.”

He jerked awake, looking around in confusion. Everything was shades of black and purple, with tints of red and blue all around him. It was a sea of stars and clouds as far as he could see “Huh? Where…?” His hands went to his stomach, and he jerked in shock.

His heart stopped when he realized that his stomach was completely flat underneath his armour. It was like his baby had never been there at all.

“She’s still alive.”

Keith jumped at the familiar, but unexpected voice. Looking up, he watched as Shiro approached him.

There was a warm smile on his face, a tenderness that Keith hadn’t seen since he vanished in their battle against Zarkon. Of course he had been friendly, but not quite like this. There was something about him, Keith couldn’t quite pick up on what it was, that was different in a good way. Different from the Shiro he had seen before the mission. Maybe it was because the floof of hair on his head looked different (better), Keith didn’t know. “Shiro? Where are we? What’s happening?”  
  
“This is Black’s astral field. Like their inner consciousness,” Shiro explained, holding out his arms. “This is where I faced Zarkon and fought for control over them.”

“I don’t understand. Why am I here?”

“You got hurt pretty badly.” Shiro frowned. “Black brought you here while you’re in the healing pod so that they – I – could talk to you.” He shook his head. “They wants to apologize for taking so long to decide to let…Shiro in. I wanted to apologize for that.”  
  
“Is that why you’re here? You’re going to be their pilot?”

“I’m not, but he is.”  
  
“I don’t understand.”

Shiro sighed. “Black wanted to check and make sure that letting him pilot them wouldn’t lead to something worse. They were waiting to see what would happen, to make sure that he was okay. She’s not entirely sure, but he seems good enough for now because the universe _needs_ Voltron, and _you_ need to take care of your baby. Just…be a bit vigilant.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “I still don’t get it.”

“That’s okay. You will.” Shiro reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly. “I hope you know that I’m so proud of you. Things got rough, but you’re turning into everything I thought you could be.”

“But all I do is disappoint you.”

“You don’t. You’re learning, and you’re different from me.” He motioned around them. “I faced Zarkon entirely on my own in a different way than you did with Red, even when you were all fighting in other ways. You will _never_ have to face anything alone again, and that’s not a weakness. Your way of dealing with things is yours, as it should be. I understand that you need to take a step back though. A family is just as important.” Shiro laughed. “I can’t believe you mated with Lance, and now you’re going to have a baby.”  
  
Keith blushed and looked down.

“Are you happy?”

“I—I’m scared,” Keith admitted, because if there was anyone he could say that to, it was this Shiro. The one who wasn’t as harsh on his actions. “You know I don’t know how families are supposed to act.”

“You know everything that made you struggle, that made you hurt. Now do the opposite.” Shiro shook his head. “Besides, you’re not alone, right? You have a mate. You have an entire pack. You have a family now, Keith. You’ll be okay.” He looked up. “Looks like you’re waking up soon. Just remember, if you ever need me, I’ll be here.”

“I _still_ don’t understand,” Keith admitted.

“You will eventually,” Shiro assured him, but Keith wasn’t really sure he _wanted_ to know.

Everything started fading around him, and Keith blurted out, “Shiro? I am happy. I really am.”

Shiro smiled broadly. “I’m glad.”

…

A chill rushed up Keith’s spine as he slowly slipped back into consciousness. His eyes blinked open just as the cool glass of the cryopod slid open. At least, he thought it was a cryopod, though he didn’t instantly stumble forward. Instead, the pod shifted down and forward a bit, letting him step out onto the flat ground with ease.

The room was dark with only the bare minimum of lights on. It must have been during the sleep cycle.

Then everything came crashing back to him, and Keith’s heart leapt into his throat as he let out a high-pitched, distressed sound like only an Omega could. His hands went to his stomach, thankfully still round. He lurched towards the two screens that were monitoring the pod that he had been in, completely overlooking the fact that someone else jerked awake at his whine.

One monitor had been for his stats, and one was for his baby. He disregarded his, it didn’t matter right now.

In that moment, Keith knew without a doubt that he would _not_ be okay with losing this baby. Yes, he acknowledged that he loved the baby, but over and over again he had reminded Lance with a straight face that the odds of him having a miscarriage were pretty high.  
  
Keith knew that he would never be able to say that so blandly ever again. The thought sent fear spiking through him. He didn’t want his baby to die. He wasn’t sure that he could keep living if they did.

 They deserved the chance to live. To grow into the amazing person that he knew they could be.

The baby’s stats said that they were alive and well. Any problems or distress had been taken care of with Altea’s advanced healing technology.

Relief rushed through Keith, and he found himself slumping to his knees, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. He didn’t even try to stop the sobs that escaped him. He had been so stupid, had taken so many risks that put his child in clear danger. He wouldn’t do that anymore. They had been so lucky this time. So unlucky in the fact that they got caught in that explosion, but so lucky that they had both survived without any lasting damage.

Despite the fact that his nose was stuffed from crying, Keith still smelled Lance before he felt the hand on his shoulder. He whimpered, turning his head up as Lance knelt in front of him, looking just as tired as Keith felt.

Lance’s hands rested gently on his upper arms, red-rimmed blue eyes staring into watery indigo ones. “You okay?” His voice was so quiet, and he looked and sounded like he hadn’t slept in a week. Of course Lance would have been worried. He was naturally an empathetic person, but this was different.

Keith couldn’t stop himself. He burst into a combination of hysterical laughs and sobs like he never had before. “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, hey, no.” Lance wrapped his arms around him, pulling him as close as he could so that Keith’s round stomach was pressing against his flat one, and rocked him gently. “There was no way we could have known that would happen. It was supposed to be an easy mission. Just walk in and out.”

“I almost lost her,” Keith whispered, his hands gripping the back of Lance’s shirt, forehead leaning into the crook of his neck. “I almost lost her and now everyone knows and you had to deal with everyone finding out alone and I’m so sorry.”

Lance took a deep, shuddering breath, hands rubbing up and down his back. “I am too. I—I should have insisted you stay back. Should have told Shiro to screw off and that we all needed to talk before we went on the stupid mission. Should have dragged him to Black myself.” Keith closed his eyes as Lance breathed against his neck. “I thought I was going to lose you. I—I was the one who got to you and Pidge first. I thought—”

“I’m sorry,” Keith said again, his voice cracking. “I’m not going on another mission. I’m not.”

“No one is going to make you,” Lance assured him, his hand ending up in Keith’s hair, gently gripping the black strands. “Allura dragged Shiro to Black. We’ll be okay, and you can rest and help out from here.” He leaned away, pressing his lips to Keith’s forehead.

The relief that hit Keith was so hard that he almost couldn’t breathe. He sagged onto Lance as he realized what it all meant. Black had accepted Shiro back.

Lance sniffed, and Keith looked up at him. He felt drips of warm water fall onto his skin, and looked up at his mate’s face again. He reached up, brushing away the tears that were streaking down his own cheeks.

Keith moved so that he was sitting sideways on Lance’s lap, leaning against him with one of Lance’s arms around his back, the other running through his hair. Lance could cuddle and coddle him as much as he wanted right now if it made him feel better. He chirped gently, allowing his scent to become sweeter, calmer in an attempt to soothe him.

 It took a few moments for the Alpha to calm down, and then he began gently peppering kisses on the Omega’s face, wrapping one arm around his abdomen as his other hand played with Lance’s jacket.  He felt warm, safe, and so loved that his eyes actually started to water a bit again.

Then Keith felt a gentle thump against his stomach an arm. A bit startled, he opened his eyes and looked down to inspect what was happening, but there was nothing there. He was confused for a moment as he felt it again, but then it hit him (metaphorically) what was going on. His baby was _kicking_. He had felt something close to this from the inside before. Not just the bubble-like taps, but a nudges a little bit stronger lately. Never like this though. Never like these strong little kicks (it felt like a foot, not a hand) that he could feel from the outside. She was okay. He could actually feel that she was fine because she was showing him that she was.

Keith’s tears almost fell, but then, much to his embarrassment, his stomach growled. He flushed, and glance at Lance through his dark bangs.

Lance actually laughed. It was a loud, cheerful sound that seemed to echo off of the walls of the med bay. He maneuvered out from underneath Keith and helped him to his feet, keeping his arm firmly around Keith’s shoulders as he pecked his lips. “Come on, let’s get you and Beansprout something to eat.”

“Beansprout?” Keith asked tiredly. He grabbed Lance’s hand and allowed him to pull him up.

“I’m working on a name to call them. Testing some things out. Just because _you_ don’t like nicknames, doesn’t mean that Jellybean won’t.” Not that it ever stopped Lance from coming up with them.

Keith looped his arm around Lance’s waist, leaning onto him as the two walked out of the room and towards the kitchen. The castle was eerily quiet, but Keith was honestly glad about it. He couldn’t have everyone surrounded him right now.

He had the distinct feeling that Lance was going to start acting a little more overprotective. Or maybe he was _hoping_ that he would. Maybe it was because he was _so_ shaken by what had happened on an apparently easy mission, but he _wanted_ someone to lean on. He wanted someone that he trusted without question to shield him.

Oddly enough, that didn’t make him feel as weak as he thought it would.

“Sit,” Lance ordered when they entered the kitchen, though it wasn’t in a harsh way. It was strange how an order could sound so affectionate.

Keith sat carefully, hand resting on his stomach as he watched the Red Paladin wandered around the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed something different. “Are those labels?”  
  
“Yeah. Hunk spent _hours_ with Coran in here, working out what was safe for humans, Alteans, and Galra. There’s actually a lot of overlap. That way we can see the ingredients that are safe to use. So whatever we make might taste nasty, but it’ll still be edible.”

“Oh.” Keith didn’t know what to say to that. He kind of felt like crying again, honestly. Damn hormones.

“Hunk also went on a cooking spree when you were in the pod. He made a ton of things that should give you even more nutrients.” His blue eyes darted back to Keith. “He started freaking out when he realized _why_ you were having such a hard time eating goo. He sat with me for a while but when he came back after cooking, he almost cried. He’s got you covered now though.”

“I’m sorry you had to deal with sad Hunk,” Keith said mournfully, genuinely meaning it.

“You need to stop apologizing. But also, apology accepted.” Lance stared at him for a moment. “He understands why, and honestly I think he’s kind of excited. Pidge is probably going to cling to you for a while. Allura…I have no idea. She kept it all together though. Shiro though…” Lance trailed off.

“What about Shiro?” Keith asked with a frown.  
  
“I kind of got into a fight with him,” he admitted. “Sort of. I yelled at him for being a jerk. It’ll be fine though. He won’t say anything bad to you. I think he was more worried than anything.”

Keith looked away, wincing a little bit. Shiro was the one that he had been worried about most, and he definitely hadn’t taken it well.

“Ah! No! I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad!” Lance came back, setting a bowl of warm food in front of him. It kind of looked like colourful mashed potatoes with some kind of meat mixed in, but it wasn’t goo and it smelled amazing. “I know it looks funny, but Hunk made me eat a bit earlier too, and it’s good. Eat up. Those pods really suck, and there were two of you in one.” He made a face. “Wonder if you’ll have a psychic bond with them like Allura does with the mice.”

“She was with them for 10,000 years, I was…how long was I in there?”

“A little over a day.”

Keith winced at that, and turned his gaze to the food. He took a couple bites before digging right in. It was really good.

He felt a jab in his stomach, and his hand flew to it.

“Stop that while I eat,” Keith muttered, though he couldn’t stop himself from smiling broadly, because he really didn’t want them to stop. His mind was still blown that he could feel this from the outside now, but he wanted to finish eating for both their sakes. He felt another kick in response, and it didn’t upset his stomach at all, so he supposed that it was fine. Kick away little baby.

“Stop…what?” Lance asked slowly. Keith looked up, catching his confused and worried expression.

 Keith’s mouth opened into an O. How could he have forgotten? He had been _so_ lost in his private, happy thoughts that he had forgotten to tell Lance! He held out his hand and muttered, “Come here.”

Lance moved over beside him, watching with interest as Keith grabbed his hand and placed it on his stomach where the baby had been kicking. It took a couple seconds, but Keith knew Lance had felt it when his eyes went wide.

“Holy shit,” Lance breathed out. His other hand twitched a bit. “Can I—?”

“You know you don’t have to ask,” Keith assured him, though he did appreciate that Lance did almost every time.  He relaxed as Lance placed both of his hands on the bump, feeling the baby kick and move.

“Mierda,” he said again. He laughed joyously and kissed his belly through his shirt. “He’s really kicking! You’ve been talking about him moving for a while but this is insane!”

Keith chuckled and let Lance fawn over the baby as he ate. Hunk really had outdone himself with the food.

Once he was finished, Keith tried to stand up, but it was honestly a bit of a struggle. Lance chuckled, and held up his hands innocently when Keith glared at him. “What? It’s cute.”

“It is not. Just help me up.” He shifted a bit. “This suit feels gross.”  
  
“Yeah, they usually do.” Lance helped Keith up and snatched his dirty dishes away before he could do it. Keith watched him as he practically danced around the room to put it in the strange, Altean dishwasher (that actually used flames but they didn’t talk about that). “Alright, so, you probably want a shower, and those suits are uncomfortable as hell. Then we’ll have cuddle time!”

“Lance,” Keith said with a sigh. “We should really talk about what we’re going to do.”  
  
“What’s there to talk about? I talked to everyone, but you know they’ll probably want to grill us together tomorrow, but like, really, we’re adults, we’re mates, it’s our pup, and you’re both okay. That’s all that really matters to me. I don’t care what they say. We’ll just answer any questions they have tomorrow, and if anyone bothers you, I’ll fight them!”

“No you won’t.” The Omega couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the thought though. He wasn’t belittling Lance’s strength, he just knew that he wasn’t instantly one to jump to violence. Especially when it came to their friends.  
  
“…I’ll glare at them unhappily.”

“There you go.” Keith nudged him gently as they started walking down the hall. He knew for a fact that if the Galra or something unfamiliar threatened him though, Lance would do anything to keep him safe. There was something very comforting about that, as long as the idiot didn’t sacrifice himself.

Lance smiled slightly, but it vanished a moment later. “Honestly? I could use some down time. Just you and me. So no, let’s not talk about anything big or heavy now. We should just go and relax.”

Keith instantly felt guilty. He could see the exhaustion in Lance’s face – had seen it when he woke up and when Lance broke down briefly, but he was so lost in his own thoughts that it hadn’t _truly_ occurred to him that Lance probably needed more time to calm down and be reassured that they were okay himself. He probably wasn’t  just _worried_ about him, he was probably _terrified._

He knew how insecure Lance actually was – about himself and his place on the team. Just like Keith was worried that he’d eventually end up alone, Lance was worried that he was an unfit Alpha and teammate. Knowing that his pregnant Omega had been hurt so badly probably made those insecurities worse. Then he had been the one to take the brunt of everyone else’s questions while Keith was in the healing pod. Lance was a very empathetic person. The whole situation probably tore him to pieces.

Keith took his hand and tugged him into the room that they had been sharing for months. He pulled him down, kissing him with every ounce of love and appreciation that he had in him. Lance hummed in response, hands sliding around his back.

The Omega had to pull back a lot sooner than he normally would have, but he tended to run out of breath a little faster than before he was pregnant. “You go sleep. I’m just taking a shower, and then I’ll come back and we’ll just sleep. No talking.”

Lance smiled brightly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Yeah, you kind of stink.”

Keith snorted and gently punched his arm. “Not supposed to tell your Omega that.”

“Just get in the shower, stinky.”

Keith didn’t bother with finding clothes, he was far too comfortable around Lance to worry about nudity.

Once he was in the washroom, he peeled the white suit away. It was actually freeing to be out of it. He kicked it away with a vengeance, and looked around at the mirror in the bathroom. He knew that when people were more active, their abdomen muscles tended to keep baby bumps a little bit smaller, but his was still noticeable. In fact, it somehow seemed even _more_ noticeable now that he knew that everyone else knew.

He turned to get in the shower, turning on the water to get it an appropriate temperature. When he did, he noticed that there were a couple scars on his back where the lighter Kevlar-like armour was. The explosion had been really bad.

He was so lucky that not only was he alive, but so was his unborn child. He wasn’t going to push it ever again. He was _not_ going on another mission.

His breath shuddered and he got into the shower. The water felt amazing on his skin as he scrubbed away the dirt and grime, cleaning his dirty, greasy hair. The pods could clean out and their wounds, but not the rest of them.

Keith physically felt better after getting himself clean. He wrapped a towel around his waist, glad that Lance liked the giant ones. He never had to worry if it would fit around him or not.

He walked back into the room in search of his pyjamas, and Lance whistled at him playfully. “Honey, I hate when you leave, but I love watching you go.”

“I’m not leaving. I just walked into the room,” Keith deadpanned.

Not deterred at all, Lance said, “Even better!” He patted the bed beside him. “Come lay down with Papi.”

“I am _not_ calling you that. Ever. Holy shit, that’s sketchy.”

“Um excuse you, I meant literally, because I am a Papi. You’re the one making it weird, Kogane. Guess I’ll go with Papá then like I use with mine. Might be easier for Jellybean anyway since he’ll be saying my name first.”

Keith sighed, hiding a smile as he found boxers to tug on before laying at Lance’s side. The Alpha instantly curled around him, spooning him close and running his lips against Keith’s scent gland. “Dios. I am so glad that you’re okay. Both of you.”

It was a bit of a struggle, but Keith managed to turn around onto his other side so that they were facing one another.

Lance cupped Keith’s cheek and kissed him. Keith hummed in approval, parting his lips and running his tongue along Lance’s. Normally they were so soft, but now they were actually chapped, meaning that he hadn’t done his self-care routine.

His inner Omega both worried and preened. His Alpha had stayed to protect him and their pup. The thought made something inside of him twist and burn in a way he hadn’t felt in a while.

With a harsh shove, Lance ended up on his back, Keith climbing on top of him, straddling him with surprising ease. His hands gripped Keith’s hips, and he arched an eyebrow. “Well hello there. What are you up to?”  
  
“You know _exactly_ what I’m doing,” Keith said, running a finger down his chest. He leaned down as best as he could, pressing his lips against Lance’s collarbone. “You just gonna lay there, or are you gonna fuck me?”

“What is with you and one of us getting hurt or sick and immediately wanting to jump me?”

“Reminds me that life is short and you need to take all you can right now.”

“Okay, point.” Lance eyed him. “Lay on your side. Facing away from me.”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“You _just_ came out of the cryopod, you need to take it easy.” The Alpha smirked at him. “But there are ways for you to take it easy and have fun at the same time. Trust me?”

Was that even a question? “Always.”

The rest of the universe could have stopped around them for all they cared. The only thing that mattered was one another.

…

“That doesn’t really hide your bump very well, you know that, right?” Lance asked as he eyed Keith, who had put on a normal-sized black shirt instead of one of the extra-large ones he had synthesized.  It made the curve of his abdomen very obvious, especially if someone was looking for it, which everyone would be.

“I know,” Keith answered. There was an unapologetic, stubborn tone to his voice that had Lance staring at him with amusement. This was the stubborn, strong Keith that he had fallen in love with, the one that didn’t take anyone’s shit. The Omega stopped and eyed the Alpha, not saying a word.

“Fine.” Lance shrugged the green jacket off, draping it over his mate’s slimmer shoulders, unable to say no to his pleading eyes. He pressed his lips against his forehead. “It’s a good thing you’re hot as hell in my jacket. Well, you’re hot as hell normally, but the jacket adds to it, ya know? And it’s a good thing, because like this, everyone is going to see the hickeys that you left.”

He held out his hand to Keith, who took it after he got his gloves on, and they headed off out to the kitchen.

Keith snickered a little bit. “Good.”

“They’ll all know that we had sex.”

Keith immediately stopped walking and stared at Lance. He let go of his hand and held his arms out, the jacket moving back so that the roundness of his abdomen was obvious. “Lance, the fact that theirs is currently another _human_ growing inside of me that happens to get 50% of their DNA from you is kind of a bigger give away that we had sex.” He paused. “Plus I’m pretty sure everyone’s walked in on us at least once.”

“You know what I mean!” Lance waved his hands in the air before reaching out and grabbing his hand again. “Unbelievable!”

Lance’s silliness erased any of the nerves Keith had about going into the kitchen. This would be the first time that _he_ would have to face everyone else while they knew he was pregnant. He felt anxious, but held his head high and went ahead. After all, it wasn’t bad when he had talked to Pidge, so surely it would be pretty easy with everyone else since they all already knew.

“There you are!” Hunk burst out the second that the door to the kitchen opened. Pidge was sitting at the table, but they were the only two there. “I noticed you guys were gone from the med bay earlier and was about to come and find you!” There were bowls and plates of steaming food and what actually looked like slightly wonky muffins.

Though Keith knew that Hunk had been cooking other things, he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “This isn’t food goo.”

Pidge snorted loudly, and Hunk narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m _not_ going to feed our _pregnant_ pack Omega for that matter, something that makes him sick.” He sounded utterly scandalized. “Don’t be dense.”

“It’s in his nature,” Pidge said lightly as she turned to face Keith, her eyes instantly going to his stomach. “So how are you feeling?”

Lance almost laughed at the look on Keith’s face. Whatever he was expecting for a first question, it wasn’t that.

“Um…fine?” Keith said almost hesitantly.

“None of the smells making you sick? I heard that smells can be a pretty big trigger for nausea at any point of time during pregnant,” Pidge noted. “Though, you know, in retrospect, it should have been obvious was what wrong when you were dealing with morning sickness. You looked horrible every morning and didn’t eat right. I mean, I figured it out, but not because of that.”

Hunk didn’t look impressed with that either.

“Everything smells fine, Pidge. And I’m sorry, Hunk,” Keith said honestly. “It’s not…it was my choice to keep it a secret and I just…I thought about asking you earlier about the food and stuff but I didn’t want you to worry more. I didn’t want anyone to worry.”

“Lance explained it,” Hunk assured him. “I don’t entirely _agree_ with your reasoning, but there’s no point in crying over it now, huh?”

“I’m actually impressed Lance didn’t accidentally blurt something out, honestly,” Pidge admitted as she speared some kind of round fruit and ate it.

“Hey,” Lance pouted. “I know how to keep a secret. If it makes you guys feel any better, Einstein here wasn’t going to tell me either. He accidentally blurted out that he was pregnant when we were talking about the lions once.”

“And how did you plan on getting away with that, exactly?” Hunk asked, eyeing Keith’s stomach.

The Omega shrunk down a bit in his seat and shrugged his shoulders. He was glad that he had blurted it out to Lance in the long run. He wasn’t sure how he would have gotten through all of this without him, and he knew it would have been a huge blow to Lance’s insecurities when he inevitably figured out what was going on.

“Hey Pidge, how exactly _did_ you figure out that I was pregnant?” Keith asked her. He hadn’t bothered with it before, but not he was curious.

“When they’re in heat or close to heat, Omegas have a stronger sense of smell than any other dynamic,” Pidge explained. “There was something really different about your smell that I caught onto a while ago. Everyone was just assuming it had to do with you skipping a heat since it’s not unheard of but yeah, that was the first clue that something was _different_. After that I started getting the urge to like hug and coddle you, and to make or give you things. Which doesn’t make sense, because usually it’s just a mate’s Alpha that does that. I realized later that it’s actually pretty common for _everyone_ in a pack to feel that way towards an expecting Omega. Like they have to protect them, and want to help them prepare for their pup. Honestly though, it was Lance that made things click.”

“Me?” Lance asked, surprised.

“All offense but you were acting really weird. I realized it really recently, when you were trying to build what I realized was a crib that fell apart.” Pidge chuckled a bit at that. “Then I looked closely at Keith and…well…once you knew it was impossible to not see. So then I confronted you about it.”

Keith nodded his head absent mindedly, more interested in what she had revealed. He turned his attention towards his Alpha and asked, “You were trying to make a crib?”  
  
Lance blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I wanted to help more.”

Keith wanted to tease Lance about it, but a sour smell twisted through the air and he looked back at Pidge. She set down her spork and had started hugging herself, lost in her own mind and distressed.

Her lips trembled as she said, “I _knew_ you were pregnant. I knew it. And then that doorway blew up and your back was a mess and you _flew_ across the room.” She paused. “You were protecting your stomach, you know. Holding it, and you hit the floor on your side.”

He felt his chest constricting, his fingers twitching with the urge to gather the younger Omega into his arms and hug her. That wasn’t something he did though, and Pidge was kind of an adult now, so he couldn’t treat her like a child. “Pidge?”

“I’m not crying.” There was a pause, and then she let out a high-pitched whine and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as tears slipped down her cheeks. “You idiot! I’m so sorry! I should have checked on the beeping as soon as you mentioned it. I thought I got you and your baby killed! I couldn’t leave the med bay until I knew you were both okay.” She sniffed loudly, resting her head on his shoulder.

Something inside of Keith broke. The guilt rushed out of him as he hugged her back. “It’s not your fault. It’s _not_. You didn’t put those bombs there. You didn’t tell me to keep going on missions. It was the Galra. It was my stupidity. It wasn’t you.”

Warmth rushed through Keith, his body relaxing a little bit as Lance hugged him from behind, his arms wrapping around him to reach Pidge too. Hunk appeared behind Pidge, and the four of them were in a tight group hug.

“Shiro got Black to work for him again,” Hunk said, breaking the silence but not the hug.

“I’m glad,” Keith breathed out.

Slowly they all broke out of the hug, but the air around them was so tense and heavy. He didn’t like it at all. He looked at Lance, who frowned slightly before his face lit up.

“Guys, we’re having a baby,” Lance stressed. “It’s a good thing! A great thing! He’s okay and Keith’s okay! Everything’s okay!”

“He?” Hunk asked, perking up a bit.

“It’s going to be a boy,” Lance said confidently. Keith scoffed a bit at that, moving back to the table and taking another bite of his food. “Wanna make a bet of it, Mullet?”

“They’re a girl,” the Omega insisted. “Maybe intersex, I dunno, but they’ll be a girl.” He didn’t know _why_ he felt that way, but something was screaming it inside of him. Like he just _knew_ what they would want to be known as. If Lance wanted to compete though, that could compete. “So sure. You’ll lose though.”

“Winner gets naming rights with no arguments!” Lance exclaimed.

Uh, what? Keith narrowed his eyes. “No.”

“But—“

“ _No_.” Keith was sure he’d win, but he was _not_ even risking his right to name the pup that was currently inside of him that he would eventually have to very painfully push out.

Lance pouted slightly at that, but then a wicked grin appeared on his face. “Fine, fine. You’ll see when I’m right though. Can’t always count on the pregnancy brain, right? Might make you think crazy things and panic, right?”

Keith blinked at him before his cheeks went pink. “Lance!”

“Panicked?” Hunk asked, sounding both worried and curious.

Lance snorted loudly. “Okay, it freaked me out as all shit at the time, because we were just cleaning and then he was freaking out and I thought something was wrong, this is how Coran found out by the way, but in retrospect _why_ he was freaking out is really funny.”

“It is not. There’s nothing funny about this story.” Keith pouted.

“You were freaking out because you knew that most Galra have multiples and thought you were going to have octuplets even though you kind of knew there was only one in there already.”

“I was _also_ worried about their health too, jackass.”

“Eight?” Hunks’s eyebrows shot up. He took a step back from Pidge, who let go of Keith. “Why eight?”

“I don’t know!” Lance let his arms drop from around Keith, but he stayed close to him.

“Oh my god,” Pidge whispered, eyes going wide. “Eight mini-Lances.”

Hunk shuddered, and she burst into laughter. Lance whined a bit at the two of them.

Pidge ignored him and patted Keith’s knee. “Please tell me you’re not bringing eight tiny versions of Lance into the world.”

“There’s only one,” Keith assured her, but then paused. “Wait, didn’t you see the scans?”  
  
“I just wanted you to realize that you’re potentially bringing a hyperactive, future flirt of a child into the world.” Once again, Lance protested this unhappily, exclaiming loudly how he was an awesome child.

Hunk looked at him. “Maybe they’ll be like you.”

The thought sent something horrible right into Keith’s core. It was a feeling that hadn’t hit him a little while, and it was amazingly terrifying how one simple sentence brought it back.

The baby growing inside of him got half of their genetics from him. He already knew that this meant they’d have some form of Galra blood in them, but he never really thought about it personality-wise, even though this was obvious since it was _growing inside of him_. Kids did get a lot of their personality from life experience and what they observed around them too, but it wasn’t uncommon to see shared traits with parents. The thought of his baby turning out like _him_ was one of the worst things he could think of. Whenever he had been picturing his child, he had been picturing a small, female version of Lance. Never once had he pictured his hair, eyes, or any of his personality traits.

Just like that, he was brought back to the scowls of his foster parents. To the way his peers always used to whisper about him. Freak. Loner. Always angry. Not wanted.

“I hope they’re like Lance,” he blurted out, unable to hide the terror in his eyes. They couldn’t be like him. Everyone froze and stared at Keith, who wasn’t able to hide how upset he was. He shook his head again. “I don’t want them to be like me.” He was useless. He was messed up.

No, he had gotten over those thoughts, hadn’t he? Apparently not.

Lance was instantly at his side, wrapping his arms around Keith and holding him close. He muttered quietly, though it was only nonsense, it helped Keith calm a little bit.

Keith wasn’t even aware that Lance had pulled him to his feet, let alone that they left the room and walked all the way back to their bedroom.

They just woke up not too long ago. Keith had felt ready to take on the world. Now he just felt exhausted.

“Hey,” Lance whispered, “I love you. You know that, right? I think you’re amazing, but I know what it’s like to feel like you’re not.”

“I love you too,” Keith replied, keeping his voice low. He _did_ know that Lance understood what it was like, and he didn’t like Lance feeling so down about himself, so he also understood what Lance was feeling now. It was kind of a mess.

Lance kissed him, a sweet, loving kiss that tasted like the muffin-like things that Hunk had made that morning. The thought made his lips tick into a small smile that Lance definitely felt.

When Lance broke the kiss and leaned away slightly, Keith stared up at him with a soft smile. “Thanks.”

“I got you,” Lance assured him. “I know you’re still used to doing things on your own, but I promise, I’m here.”

“I know you are.” Keith leaned his head on Lance’s shoulder, relaxing against him. “I’m here too, for you, you know.”

“I do,” he replied with a slight laugh. “Now come on, rest for a few minutes, and then we’ll try again later, okay?

“Okay.”

…

Hunk wasn’t at all surprised when Lance burst into his room. Considering everything that had happened recently, he expected his friend to seek him out as dramatically as possible once he wasn’t lost in a haze of fear and understandable depression. That was especially true after Keith had become upset and had withdrawn into himself the previous day. The two had vanished, and Lance had snarled at any one who tried to bother them with an uncharacteristically intensity that genuinely made Hunk think that the other Alpha might fight him.

It made sense though. Lance’s instincts were completely aligned to keep Keith and their unborn pup safe from everything. A part of him, no matter what anyone else said, would still be screaming at him that he failed to keep his Omega safe from harm and was probably trying to double-up on his efforts now.

There was little Lance could do to protect Keith from his own thoughts and worries though, so it must have been driving him crazy.

Hunk watched Lance slump down dramatically onto the bean-bag like chair that he had gotten at the Space Mall. He stared at his friend as he stared up at the ceiling, waiting for him to talk. There was _so_ much to talk about.

“Hunk…I’m going to be a dad,” Lance said, his voice almost far away. “I’ve always wanted a family, but it’s actually happening. And you know, Keith is actually really excited about it too. You should hear him, Hunk. He talks to the baby all the time, and he always sounds so happy. He worries so much about taking care of them.” He sighed. “I think reason he freaked out yesterday has more to do with the _real_ reason he wasn’t going to tell anyone he was pregnant in the first place.”

“The real reason?” Hunk didn’t want to pry, but he wanted to know his friend’s point of view too. He got the feeling that Lance needed to get it out too. He might be mated to Keith, but they were part of a larger pack and didn’t have to only rely on one another.

“The baby’s been kicking,” Lance blurted out. “I’ve been able to feel it. He’s felt it moving around for a while, but when he came out of the pod, I actually got to feel it too and I realized, holy shit there’s actually a little person in there. And I love them to pieces already.” A soft smile appeared on his face. “You should see the look on Keith’s face when he feels them moving around. Well, you probably will eventually. It’s just so…I’ve never seen him like that before, and I know he _never_ expected to be like this too. He acts all gruff and distant, but he’s really not like that at all.” Lance’s smile dropped to a frown. “You heard him before.”

“That was a _lot_ of self-hated,” Hunk finished with a grimace. “When he told us about how that Alpha almost—“ Lance’s growl interrupted him. “Yeah, you remember that. It was easy to piece together that Keith was alone. I mean, the shack said as much, and so did the way he was almost desperate to get Shiro back. I thought back to the Garrison and realized that he was always alone then too. The more I got to know him, the most I thought that there was more to him than anger and seriousness. I mean, when he relaxed he was always pretty happy and open so I got the feeling that he used the distance and anger just like how you do when you go over the top with your dramatics. I still wasn’t expecting that.”

“ _That_ is exactly what I think was really keeping him quiet!” Lance exclaimed. “It’s hard to see your mate being distant, and it bugs me sometimes, but he usually comes around to me now.

We’re still working on it a bit. It’s hard for me because, well, you know, and it’s hard for him because literally everyone else in his life left him. They abandoned him, rejected him, or were taken away. I don’t want to gossip, it’s his story to tell, but he’s _so_ scared about being left alone that he tends to run first, and I think a part of him was still doing that.”

“I can see it,” Hunk said with a grimace. “But you guys are working it out, right? You—you don’t think that you…you know…”  
  
“No, I don’t know,” Lance said slowly.

“I know we talked about how this is normal at home, but be honest with me. Do you think you guys jumped the gun by marking one another?” Hunk suggested. “I get that the pregnancy wasn’t on purpose but…”

“I wondered that for a while,” Lance admitted. “But no. I don’t think it was moving too fast. We’ve known each other for a while, hell, we’ve been all each other has as a back for what, two years now? More? I don’t even think I know how old I _actually_ am right now. Besides, we dated and courted for like six months before that. It’s pretty on average actually.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Hunk waved his hands in the air. “I just meant that maybe there were more insecurities to work on first? I’m genuinely asking.”

“Claiming one another was probably the best move we could have made to help move on from some of our problems,” Lane admitted, the fight instantly leaving him. “Yeah, we have a lot to work on, but we’re makes. It helps ground me, you know? Cause no matter how low I feel about myself, the marks are right there. Keith chose me. It’s a good reminder, because he seems to think I’m pretty awesome, and when your former _rival_ , the person you were jealous of and wanted to surpass, thinks that? When the person you love things that of you? That’s just…it’s amazing. Also, he actually tries to help me too. So, no, marking one another wasn’t a mistake.”

Hunk nodded his head. “I’m glad. And you know, you guys aren’t alone, right? We’re a pack, and we’re all here to help. But I think you’re doing a really good job of bringing Keith’s walls down, of making him believe that he can be part of a family.”  
  
“Yeah?” Lance perked up at that. “You think so?”  
  
“Can you imagine the Keith we first came up into space with getting pregnant?”

He thought about that. The Keith was that still freshly reeling from finding Shiro, his only family, again, but still hurt by how he disappeared. The one that had been kicked from the Garrison for refusing to believe their lies. The one that bounced around in foster care. The one that was rejected by his uncle. The one that lost his father. The one that was abandoned by his mother.

“He would have run,” Lance realized. “He would have run, pushing us away before he could be rejected or hurt, because that’s all he knew.” He probably would have gotten that abortion without second thought.

“And now?”  
  
“He’s still scared. Still worried that he won’t be a good enough parent but…he’s still here. He’s trying. He’s happy most of the time. He’s letting me take care of him, telling me when things are wrong.” He really _had_ been making a difference, hadn’t he?

“Exactly!” Hunk said enthusiastically. “You got this, Lance. You both do! And we’ve got all of you too!

“Thank you, Hunk,” the Red Paladin said with a warm smile. “I think I needed to hear all this from someone else.”

“It’s what I’m here for!” He clapped his hands together. “Now tell me, do you _really_ think it’s going to be a boy?”

Lance laughed. “We both use ‘they’ a lot, but Keith’s also been saying ‘her’ a lot more, so I’m saying ‘he’ just because. I don’t actually know what it’s going to be, and I honestly don’t care.

As long as they’re healthy, I don’t care what organs they have.” He paused. “I’ve been speaking Spanish to them sometimes. Even if we don’t get back to Earth for a long time, I want them to know about their culture from my side of the family too. Huh, wonder if Keith wants to teach them Japanese too?”

“Doesn’t he speak Galran now too?”

The Alpha thought about that for a moment, before his eyes lit up. “Hell yeah, universal, multi-lingual baby! We can get Allura or Coran to teach them Altean! Holy shit, Hunk, I’m going to give them every opportunity I can to be amazing in whatever way they want to be!”

Hunk laughed loudly as Lance started rattling off the things he’d like to do with the baby. He wondered if he could work in cooking lessons somewhere.

…

When he was younger, Keith used to sit with his father outside and look at the stars. They’d talk about the constellations, making up stories about exploring the stars and what would be out there. Even after he was gone, the stars would be a comfort to Keith.

The stars that he was looking at now were very different from then. He sat on a padded bench, knees drawn up, his thighs pressing against his protruding stomach, staring out one of the large viewing windows. It was beautiful.

He didn’t feel like the others did with their longing to return to Earth. To Keith, he felt like he didn’t really belong there (and now knew why). However, a part of him wanted his child to know what it was like. He wanted them to meet their family on their father’s side too.

Maybe someday they would, but he was content being in space for now.

“Keith.”

He blinked and straightened up a bit, looking around to see Shiro approaching. His shoulders tensed slightly. He hadn’t spoken to Shiro one-on-one since they all found out about the baby, since Black had taken him back.

Shiro sat on the bench, staring out the window. They were both silent for a moment, before Shiro said, “Sometimes everything just seems so big that it feels like we’ll never make a difference against the Galra Empire. Even if we took out Zarkon.”

Keith was taken back, but nodded his head and looked outside. “Yeah.”

“That’s what’s been going through my mind lately, and sometimes, when you look at things that are so big, you overlook the little things.” Shiro turned his gaze towards him, a frown on his face. “I’m so sorry, Keith.”

“For what?” Something was nagging at the back of his mind as he looked at Shiro’s distorted reflection.  
  
“I should have noticed,” he insisted. “I kept pushing you about being the team leader that I wasn’t listening to you when you tried to pull back. I just thought it had to do with flying Black, and that stress was messing up your heats. I should have figured it out.” There was a tint of anger to his voice. It was just enough for Keith to stay tense.

“I thought about telling you more than once but I just…I got scared. You’re like an older brother to me, and I knew you’d be disappointed.” Keith shook his head. “Like you said, there are bigger, more important things, right?”

“There are,” Shiro agreed. “I know I failed as brother. If I was here, I would have discouraged you and Lance from marking one another.” Keith’s head shot up, eyes narrowed. The Beta held up his hands. “Not because it’s inherently a bad thing or I think you’re bad for one another, but it’s a distraction. And a baby…”

Something bitter rose up inside of Keith, and he felt Black whispering to him soothingly. That was a bit surprising, since he _knew_ that Black had opened up to Shiro. Why was the lion still talking to him?

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He just didn’t understand.

Keith felt the baby shift inside of him, kicking at his ribcage. Maybe they could tell that he was annoyed and were trying to calm him down. Probably not, but it worked anyway.

“The battle against the Galra is important,” Keith said. “I didn’t _mean_ to do something that could impact it. But Shiro, we’re only human…well…okay I’m not, but you know what I’m talking about.” He waved his arm around. “Like you said, we’ve been in space for years now and we’re only making an impact now. We can’t just keep going full-steam ahead. We can’t.”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. “You think the team can’t do it?”

“It’s not about abilities! It’s about our lives! We’re not mindless robots, Shiro!” Something was really wrong about this. So very wrong. Shiro was supposed to be supportive, happy, proud. Not this.

_“Is that why you’re here? You’re going to be their pilot?”_ _  
_

_“I’m not, but he is.”  
_ __  
“I don’t understand.”

Keith blinked, the conversation forcing its way back into his memory. The Astral Plain. Talking to Shiro there.

Shiro had known he was pregnant. Had been happy for him. This Shiro didn’t know.

_“Black wanted to check and make sure that letting him pilot them wouldn’t lead to something worse. Their not entirely sure, but he seems good enough for now. Just…be a bit vigilant.”_

Keith instantly clammed up. He didn’t know what was going on, but he was going to vigilant, just like Black wanted him to be.

“No, we’re not, but the universe has to come first, or what’s the point?” Shiro pointed out, sounding equally as frustrated as Keith was. “What’s the point of having a family, if they’re just going to suffer because of the Galra Empire? We need to focus on that first. It’s more important. It’ll be hard to do with one less Paladin.”

_“I understand that you need to take a step back though. A family is just as important.”_

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Keith burst out. It was a bit of a struggle, but he managed to stand up. “Black already took you back! You’re _not_ a Paladin down! You were always going to get them back you know. They promised me.”  
  
“What?” Shiro asked, looking entirely too perplexed.  
  
“You really think I’m _that_ shitty a leader, don’t you?” Keith asked, his voice wounded because he _knew_ he was, but having it confirmed by Shiro was still painful since he was the one that had wanted this for him in the first place. “I didn’t tell anyone I was pregnant at first because I didn’t _want_ to leave the universe without Voltron! I was holding out for you to get back! Then you did and Black wouldn’t listen anymore! So I kept trying to talk to them, to figure out what was wrong, and you were just…you tried once and that was it! That’s why I waited to tell anyone aside from Lance.  I was trying to get Black to take _you_ back so that we could still have Voltron but you didn’t even _try_ until I almost _died_.”

He hadn’t noticed the door slide open during his rant. Hadn’t noticed the way his own voice rose into an angry yell. He was just so, _so_ frustrated. This was wrong. Shiro knew how to focus, but he also knew that it was important for all of them to hold onto the little things, the things that made them happy, the things that weren’t about fighting. If they didn’t hold onto those things, everything that they were actually fighting for became an abstract concept.  
  
Shiro’s expression finally softened. “Keith, that wasn’t what I was getting at. It’s—it’s bad timing but it’s not a _bad_ thing.”

Oddly enough, Keith didn’t believe this softer attitude. Yes, it was something Shiro would say, but not something _this_ Shiro would say.

_“Besides, you’re not alone, right? You have a mate. You have an entire pack. You have a family now, Keith. You’ll be okay… Just remember, if you ever need me, I’ll be here.”_

Keith shook his head and retreated. He couldn’t do this right now. He couldn’t. He could feel his eyes burning as he blinked rapidly. A gentle hand suddenly rested on his arm, and he focused to see Allura staring at him, brow pinched with worry, while Coran was staring in the room at Shiro.

“Come with me for a moment,” Allura said, keeping her voice quiet and light.

Keith wanted to argue with her, but the fight had left him, and she wasn’t demanding anything from him. This wasn’t Princess Allura who was the true head of the coalition, this was a young woman who was his friend and wanted to help.

He nodded his head, and she smiled at him, pressing an arm to his back to lead him away.

They were silent as she guided him towards her room. Keith looked around with interest, noting that it did indeed look like a Princess’ room with warm colours made from materials that a part of him kind of wanted to swipe. The mice were jumping on her pillows and waved to him as they walked in.

Allura puttered around for a moment, grabbing some things and putting them into a fabric bag. It was silent for a moment before she said, “Thank you, Keith.”

“Huh?”

She stood up straight and faced him. “Thank you for thinking of Voltron, for thinking of everything we worked so hard for.” Though her scent didn’t shift with her emotions, he could clearly see the honesty in her bright eyes. “It was so very brave of you. And figuring out a way to do with while protecting your child? That’s something to be proud of, not something to cringe about.”

Keith’s mouth opened with surprise, but he closed it again because he didn’t know what to say. No one had _praised_ him for choosing to pilot Black after finding out that he was pregnant. He felt something rising inside of him, something he couldn’t describe.

“It must have been so frightening, and I am _so_ glad that you and your child are okay.” Allura shifted closer to him and pressed the bag into his hands.

“I—what’s this?”

She practically bounced on the balls of her feet. “Alteans have very long life spans, so children actually are – were a bit more of a rarity. I know that your child is not Altean, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen a baby, and I find it rather exciting.” She actually looked a bit bashful about that. “I wanted to thank you and congratulate you both. In there are soothing bath mixtures and salts. I think if anyone deserves a de-stressor, it’s you.” She paused.  “Though I also get the feeling that Lance will probably steal it, won’t he?”

Keith laughed. “Probably.” His smile softened. “Allura, I—everyone’s just been…well…you can _tell_ they think I was being dumb by not saying anything and still going on missions. So – I – thank you.”  
  
“Of course.” She nodded, but then her cheeks turned magenta. “I’m going to let you in on a secret. I sort of acted in front of the others. Well, actually _seeing_ how far along you were was rather surprising, but I actually knew about your condition for quite some time.”  
  
“…What?” His eyes suddenly snapped to the coloured mice. “Really?”

She giggled slightly. “Yes, they are quite the gossips. I figured you’d say something when you were ready, though I was a tad disappointed at how long it too. That’s alright though.” She reached out and grabbed his hands, drawing his attention away from the mice. “If you need anything, let me know. Perhaps you won’t be going on missions, but you are still one of my Paladins, still one of my friends. Anything at all.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Keith insisted, feeling a bit awkward. He liked Allura, but they weren’t extremely close. It’d be nice to change that though.  
  
“You didn’t turn away from us when we needed you, even though you had every right to.” Her expression was stern. “We’re—we’re family, and we’re not going to turn away from you either.”

His emotions finally bubbled over, and he couldn’t stop the tears from falling down. Allura panicked, and he laughed hard.

“Thank you, Allura.” He smiled at her warmly. “Thank you.”

For the first time, he felt truly good about the choice that he had made. If Allura thought that he had done the right thing, then he knew he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a question for everyone! I'm currently thinking of other things I can write, and I've got some ideas, but I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for other AUs? They can include more A/B/O, but more like ABO+other AU. Or no A/B/O at all. 
> 
> I thought it'd be interesting to see, since a few people mentioned "I was looking for a fic like this" about this one.


	18. Don't Make Me Cry

Lance slid into the bedroom, yelping as he tripped over a pillow, but luckily landing on another one. Keith immediately sat up staring at him with surprised eyes, a worried chirp escaping his lips. His hair was all ruffled, and he looked positively adorable to the Alpha.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” He instantly felt guilty about that.

“I wish,” Keith snorted, unamused. He flopped back onto the bed, and Lance climbed on top of it, leaning over him while keeping one arm behind his back. The Omega met his gaze and said, “Haven’t been able to sleep.”

“Still?” Lance’s eyes turned to take in the rest of the room, realizing that it was an absolute mess of pillows and blankets that looked like they had been violently thrown. “What’s wrong with those?”

“They’re all so rough and scratchy.” Keith didn’t like to whine, but his inner Omega was incredibly displeased about this. He was finding it so hard to sleep, and generally the only way to get him knocked out for a few hours was to exhaust him. Okay, the only way to knock him out for a few hours was a lot of sex. He wasn’t shy at admitting that to Lance at least. It just wasn’t always a viable option, and that was getting frustrating.

Lance frowned at this. They had felt okay to him, but he knew that Omegas in heat had incredibly sensitive skin and needed soft, cool fabrics. It should have occurred to him that it happened while they were pregnant too. His older sister did have two pups of her own, after all.  “Will a nest help?”

The Omega shifted uncomfortably. “There’s not much of…the right fabrics around the castle, and I’d rather Pidge have that for her heat. It’s coming up sooner rather than later.” There was an almost protective tone to his voice.

That was something new that he had noticed over the past couple days. Though they were all looking out for Keith, he seemed to be going out of his way to make sure everyone was fed, that everyone got enough sleep, or when they were out on a small mission (they had yet to take any big ones) he would double or triple check to make sure they got any wounds treated immediately.

At first, Pidge wondered if this was him trying to find a way to ‘be useful’ to them, but Lance had seen this kind of behaviour before, and honestly, it was adorable. It was definitely Keith’s maternal instincts starting to go into overdrive.

Hunk theorized that it was because Keith could focus completely on the baby rather than having to worry about leading Voltron too, and that made a bit of sense to Lance. Omegas’ instincts and habits changed to adapt to their environments and situations in order to keep their pups safe.  
  
Not only did Lance find it adorable and endearing, it was also really funny. His behaviour absolutely frazzled the Alteans, who were not at all used to Keith acting like this, and Shiro looked like he had no idea how to handle his brother anymore.

Wait until he started nesting. Omegas didn’t just make amazing nests for themselves in the case of pregnancy. They tended to rearrange everything in their homes to prepare for their pups. As in Keith was going to start rearranging things in the castle. It was going to be fantastic.

“We won’t take any of those from Pidge,” Lance assured him. His mind was running through a bunch of ideas now.

Satisfied, Keith’s defensiveness seemed to melt away, and instead, he looked curious. His eyes trailed to Lance’s arms, which were back behind his body. “What’s that?”  
  
“What’s what?”  
  
“What are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding anything!”

Keith leaned forward until their noses brushed. “I don’t believe you.”

“You’re supposed to trust your Alpha, babe.”

“Oh, I trust you with my life,” Keith assured him. “Just not that you’re not hiding something.”

“Okay, okay.” Lance sighed dramatically and shifted so that he was beside Keith instead of leaning over him. “Well, did you know that Hunk knows how to sew?”  
  
“I—no…I didn’t, but I can’t say I’m surprised.” Honestly, Hunk seemed like he’d be the perfect domestic partner, and being able to patch up tears in clothing really did seem like something he could do seamlessly.

Hunk would have really appreciated that pun.

“Right, well, since he and Pidge realized that I’ve been a mess trying to do things for you and the pup, he’s been teaching me a bit and I…umm…well I thought of making this for the baby and what do you think?” He took the object from behind his back and nervously shoved it into Keith’s arms, anxiously waiting to see what he said.

Slowly, Keith twisted the plush object around in his hands. He twisted it delicately, running his fingers across the soft, red fabric. “Is this…a hippo?”

“Yup!” Lance said happily. “I asked Shiro what your favourite animal was. I wanna say I’m surprised, but hippos are like one of the most dangerous animals in the world so I’m not at all. And it’s red since we were both Red Paladins at one point. I thought it would be nice to give to the baby….and you’re crying. Please tell me those are hormonal happy tears!”

Keith laughed, trying to wipe his tears away. “Yeah, they are. You jerk. What kind of person makes their mate cry?”

Lance grinned broadly and pressed their foreheads together. “Happy tears are a good thing.”

“Shut up, no they’re not.”  He moved so that his forehead was on Lance’s shoulder, his protruding stomach brushing against Lance’s flat one. One of Keith’s hands held the hippo between them, while the other grasped Lance’s shirt.

Lance hugged him close again, nuzzling his cheek on the top of Keith’s head. He inhaled, and caught a new, very interesting scent. He smelled again. “That’s not the shampoo you normally use.”  
  
“Allura gave me all this bath stuff. I decided to use it.” Honestly, Keith had been a bit wary of the bright colours and the scents at first and had hid them away for a little while – bright colours were not his thing – but it had been so soothing that he almost fell asleep. He might have if the bubbles hadn’t amused him greatly in how they changed colours. Not that he’d _ever_ admit that.

“Allura gave you awesome bath stuff and not me?” Lance puffed up his cheeks. “And you took said bath _without_ me? Dude, that’s like prime cuddle time.”

Keith snorted. “Next time.”

“Damn right. Bath-cuddles in this awesome smelling stuff is a must.” Lance narrowed his eyes at him. “If you don’t like it you can fight me.” Keith stared at him. Lance stared back. The Alpha’s face shifted into one of horror. “Oh no. Is this a symptom of being the Red Paladin? I’m sounding more and more like you!”

“…You do realize that I could probably still take you out, right?” Keith asked, a familiar competitive look flashing across his eyes.

Lance roared with laughter. “Babe. The light of my life. My man. You’re not supposed to be lifting heavy things, and all this is all muscle.” He motioned towards himself. “Sorry, but I’d probably win now.”

“Fight me!”

“What? No!” Lance laughed again as Keith shoved him. It wasn’t rough, just a small, playful shove at his shoulders. Lance playfully shoved him back, once again hovering over him. Keith pouted a little bit and poked him gently. 

His mate was ridiculous, and Lance wouldn’t change him for the world.

…

When Allura came and got Keith, he half expected her to drag him to another room to lecture him. He didn’t really know _why_ that was his first reaction, she had been nothing but excited, even giddy for him so far. Black finally opened up to Shiro (albeit, Shiro thought that Black felt a little different but couldn’t explain why), and Voltron was fine. Allura had _praised_ him for his decision to continue piloting Black despite his condition.

It was just a knee-jerk reaction.

So when she led him to another room that he had never been to before, a bounce in her step, he was more than a little confused.

“Here we are!” She clapped her hands together as the door slid open.

The first thing that came to Keith’s mind was that it was a mess of just junk. The previous owners must have been hoarders.

Then he saw Coran in the mix. “What the hell?” Everyone else had gone to the Space Mall, leaving the three of them alone in the castle. Both Coran and Allura said that they were busy with something, but he wasn’t expecting it to involve going through old dusty stuff.

“Allura and I were talking, and we thought that we could go through some of the old storage room to see if there was anything that we could use for the little Sprout,” Coran said cheerfully. “As it turns out there are more than just a few things.”

Keith’s eyes looked around the room, taking it in quickly. “…There are at least five cribs here.”  
  
“My mother was the Queen of Altea,” Allura said while lifting her chin up. “You can’t have expected her to run all the way to the sleeping quarters just to put me down for a nap as a baby, can you?”

“No?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Exactly.” Her smile faded a bit. “I must ask forgiveness though. You’re welcome to almost anything here, but there are a few things that I must request you leave, for sentimental value. I know it seems a bit silly, but—”

“You’re going to let me use some of your baby things?” Keith was definitely taken back by that.

“Why, of course.” She nodded her head with no hesitation. “I grew between this castle and the one in Altea, and we did travel quite a bit. My father was a Paladin of Voltron, after all. There are many baby and children’s items here that have simply been sitting for thousands of years.” She smiled sadly. “It would be a waste, when your baby could use them as much as I did in the past.”

Aww fuck his pregnancy hormones. He didn’t want to cry, but here he was, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Oh goodness, did I say something wrong?”

“It’s not your fault, Princess,” Coran assured her. “From what I understand, human hormones fluctuate enough to affect the emotions of a pregnant Omega.”

“Fight me, Coran!” Keith burst out. He was so done with people attributing every emotion he showed to hormones, even if it was true when it came to his random tears because he did _not_ cry normally.

The baby was definitely being defined as ‘Lance’s spawn’ that day.

Coran was taken back by that. “I’m—I’m not going to fight you. You’re pregnant!”

“It’s an expression,” Keith assured him, a smile appearing on his face. “I don’t really want to fight you.”  
  
“Oh! Well, good!” Coran perked right back up. “We were going through some of this and thought that we could move it up to your room, but then we realized you should probably get a say in this too.”

Keith looked around. There were cribs and changing tables and fancy baby dressers. He narrowed his eyes in thought. When he had his own room it had been pretty empty. This was mostly just because he didn’t collect much. He either didn’t make messes in the first place, or he left things where they fell and picked it up a couple weeks later. Lance had owned more things, but he actually kept his room neat and clean.  
  
It made for some interesting adjustments when they started sharing, but the end result was that their room wasn’t very cluttered.

“We could probably work some of these things into mine and Lance’s room,” Keith said with a nod of his head, ignoring the looks that the two Alteans exchanged behind his back. “I don’t know about Altean babies, but human ones need a mattress and maybe a single sheet, but nothing too padded, or they can smother themselves. At least when they’re really little.”

“Altean babies are fairly coordinated when they’re born,” Coran noted. “Though our species gestate for a deca-phoeb and two phoebs, instead of nine phoebs like you.”

Keith translated that in his head. He knew that Alteans basically had ten months in their version of a year, also known as phoebs, hence why ‘year’ was ‘deca-phoeb’ to them. So that meant that, in Earth terms, Alteans were pregnant for 12 months.

It made sense though. Technically speaking, human babies probably should have been able to gestate longer, but Omega bodies couldn’t handle it, so nine months it was. That was why they were so feeble compared to most other species that were born. Alteans were very human-like, but their shape-shifting abilities would absolutely make things a little easier.

They probably didn’t feel like something was sitting on their bladders as badly.

Keith was torn out of his thoughts as Allura practically bounced beside him. “I was thinking we could set up a few areas in the castle? Like my mother had? It’s so much easier than constantly just going back to your quarters.” Her bright eyes turned to him questioningly.

He couldn’t help but smile a bit. Honestly, he hadn’t thought about how excited the Princess might be to have a baby around, but she definitely was. “It’s your castle.”

“Excellent.” Allura clapped her hands together. “Now, let’s go through all of this to try and find some things for your baby!”

…

“What the fuck,” Keith breathed out. “What the _fuck_?”

Pidge snorted loudly, patting his arm. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m not going to cry, fuck you.”

“Your baby is going to come out of the womb swearing,” Shiro noted, though he was definitely amused too.

Keith glared at him viciously. It wasn’t his fault he was feeling a little bit emotional. It was their fault. All of the other Paladins. That included Lance, who looked very smug. That little fucker had clearly known what was going on the entire time.

The castle had suites that were more apartment-like, but they were filled with things from the past that neither Allura nor Coran wanted to go through. They had all known that. Even though there were suites put aside for all five Paladins, none of them had complained about their living quarters. Their rooms were enough for them, considering all they really lacked in comparison was their own kitchens.

Keith hadn’t thought it was a problem putting all of the things for the baby inside of their room. Sure, it made it cramped, but the rooms were fairly big and theirs was so tidy that it looked almost empty (courtesy of Lance). He hadn’t considered the fact that the rooms were fairly far from the kitchen, where he would have to go to warm the formula that the baby would need to eat (He, unfortunately, was not born with any way to _properly_ feed a baby. Any sort of ‘defect’ like that in intersex Omegas was chalked up to the combination of male and female anatomy, which was stupid, but here they were. Most male Omegas were able to feed their babies, but Keith knew from early scans that he wouldn’t be able to, and that made him nervous.) every two hours or so.

Everyone else had apparently thought about this. So they made it a secret project to clear out one of the suites with three rooms, a very tiny kitchenette (as Lance called it) and living area, and a bathroom. It was just enough room to pace with a crying baby, and to put a rocking chair and another small seat. There was a mini fridge there (or the Altean version of it), and a small microwave-like unit that could heat the formula.

The fact that his friends thought of this for him and Lance was really what made him so emotional.

“This room here is going to be yours,” Allura said, motioning to a room on the right. She then motioned to the one on the left. “This is a spare.”  
  
“We figured you need one to get away from Lance every once and a while,” Pidge said, her tone teasing as Lance nudged her.

Hunk butted in and said, “Come on, we gotta show him the best part!”

“The best part?” What could be better than his friends thinking about his little family like this? The only thing left was the storage closet in between the two rooms.

Or, he thought that it was a storage closet. With a dramatic flourish, Coran through open the door to reveal that it was not at all a closet, but another room.

Keith felt numb as he was ushered forward into a warmly lit room that had a crib, dresser, changing table, and so much more. There were soft pillows, blankets, blush toys, as well as other tiny clothes and nearly anything they would need.

They had made the baby a _nursery_. He had just planned on having her in his room, and had never expected something like this. He had no idea where everyone got this stuff or how.

“Hunk and I made the mobile and the baby monitors,” Pidge spoke up, motioning towards them. They were tiny, simplified version of the five lions. “We also made this neat projection thing that shows oceans and stuff with sounds. It’s not from Earth but you know, it’s the best we could do.”

“Shiro and Coran helped redo the old baby furniture you picked out,” Allura told him. “And I—oh goodness!” She leaned forward a bit. “Are you actually crying?”

“No.” Yes, yes he was. He crossed his arms in front of him, rubbing his thumb over his fingers to calm himself a bit. He blinked furiously to try and keep the stupid tears in his eyes. Sure, seeing that people cared about him so much that they were giving him and Lance a more permanent feeling place to live would have made him choke up a little bit, but he wouldn’t have _cried_.

The baby was a jerk. Making him actually tear up again. This really needed to stop.

“If you didn’t _smell_ so happy, I’d be a bit worried,” Lance said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “So I’m going to assume that those are happy tears.”

“Fuck you,” Keith burst out, even though that was not at all what he actually wanted to say, but he lost the battle with his tears. Everyone seemed to get that though, because they laughed.

Keith had many revelations over the course of his pregnancy so far. From realizing that he wanted to keep his baby, to thinking that maybe he might be able to be a good parent, to understanding that his friends would be there for him, to accepting that wanting Lance to protect him wasn’t a show of weakness, to the awareness that he was carrying another _person_ inside of him. Somehow though, this made it all feel so real. In a little over three months, this was going to be his baby’s room. This was where they were going to grow up until they stopped the Galra and got back to Earth.  
  
Soon, Keith found himself engulfed in a group hug. This, he figured, is what it truly meant to feel like part of a family.

…

Pidge shifted uncomfortably, sweat dotting her forehead. She curled up in her nest, pulling her knees to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut.

A sudden knock at the door prompted a startled chirp to escape her. Pidge blinked at the metal door, wondering who could be bothering her right now. Everyone knew that she was in heat.

“Pidge?” Keith’s voice came through the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” she replied after a moment. If there was someone she was safe around, it was definitely another Omega.

He ambled into the room, and it was kind of hilarious how someone who once moved so gracefully seemed to struggle a bit more. He wasn’t even that big yet, and a part of her couldn’t wait to see how he handled being nine months pregnant and about ready to pop.

Keith held a water bottle out to her, and Pidge shuddered at the feeling of the ice-cold container, practically hugging it to herself under the covers of the cooling blanket Allura had given her.

“It’s bad this time, isn’t it?” Keith asked as he set a little bin beside her nest. Pidge glanced into it curiously and saw a bunch of clothes. She poked one and realized that they were cold too. “Coran said that they would stay cold in there.”  
  
She blinked back her tears and nodded her head. “It feels different. It did last time too. I don’t like it.” Her eyes turned towards him. “You could tell from the hall, couldn’t you?”

He nodded his head and shifted almost awkwardly. “You must have gotten used to heats. You’re getting older now.”

Pidge groaned. “Well, I mean, sometimes I think ‘hey you know who had a great idea? Keith. He got knocked up. That’s a great idea’ but then I also think ‘but to do that involves sex and I do not want that’.”

Keith looked almost surprised. “You don’t feel that way?”

It took her a moment to understand, but then she shook her head. “No. Do you think there’s something wrong with me?”

She knew for a fact that most people would have told her ‘yes’ without question. Keith pursed his lips together, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared at her, as if searching for something. “You’re healthy. Your scans would have picked up if something was wrong. So no?” He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh a bit at that. She watched as his hand went to his back, and her eyes fell to his protruding stomach. She liked her nests small and closed in on the corner of her bed so that she could curl up in it, leaving a part of it nest-free. She motioned to that part. “You can sit.”

Keith muttered a quiet thanks and he sat carefully on the edge of the bed, the relief of being off of his feet obvious.

“You know,” Pidge began, “I think I might be ace? Maybe demi, I dunno. I think we kinda talked about it before. Guess that makes me a messed up Omega.”

He stared at her as if she was the single stupidest thing he had ever seen. She had seen that exact same look on his face many times before when Lance said something that he found particularly dumb. “No?” His voice rose as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. “You don’t _have_ to do anything. If you _want_ to have a kid in the future, you can. If not, you don’t have to and maybe you can look into suppressants?”  
  
“Or getting my uterus out,” she said with a groan as her body seemed to heat up again. She took a drink from the water bottle he had brought her to help.

“Or that,” he agreed with her.

Pidge looked at him, her eyes falling to his stomach, where his hand had rested and was gently rubbing it. She didn’t even think he noticed he was doing it. “No ‘well what if you change your mind’? I mean, you did.”

“Yeah but that’s _me_ ,” he stressed, his hand stilling. “And before this, Lance and I actually talked about it a lot. I had a choice. I knew there was a risk that this could happen, and I had the choice of getting an abortion. I made this choice. No one, not even Lance, told me what to do. If you wanna do that, do it. Just be sure it’s what _you_ want. If anyone tells you no, have Green deal with them.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Or go to another planet.”

He nodded his head in agreement. That was what he was originally going to do after all.

They sat in silence before Pidge asked, “Not that I’m not glad you’re here, but what made you check in? Was my smell really that bad?”  
  
“I don’t think anyone else noticed,” Keith admitted. “Your scent is pretty strong, but my sense of smell is really good right now, and it was bugging me a lot that you were really sad?”

A comforting warmth welled up inside her chest. She smiled warmly at him, knowing that Keith’s instincts were lining up to care for his child and those things tended to seep over towards his entire pack until the pup got there. “Thank you.”  
  
Keith flushed, rubbing his stomach. He looked at her suddenly and said, “Hey, you know how Hunk made that space-ice cream? I bet I can get some for both of us. In a bit. He was in the kitchen and I’d rather try when he’s gone.”

“Oh my god don’t even mention that,” she groaned. “It’s amazing and he’s so protective over it.”  
  
“He’ll give it to me,” Keith said confidently while patting his stomach before setting his hand down beside him.

Pidge snorted loudly. “Are you using your _child_ to extort poor Hunk?”

Keith shrugged, completely unapologetic. “They kick my bladder. I use them to get what I want. It’s a fair trade.” His hand went back to his stomach and he glared at it. “That wasn’t permission to start kicking again, Spawn.”

Her eyes widened and she sat up. “Can I…?” Something inside of her really, really wanted to feel the baby moving.  
  
Keith nodded his head, and she scooted closer so that she was leaning against the edge of her nest closest to him. He guided her hand to the side of his stomach, where a little thump against her hand, and she chirped. Her inner omega practically preened, and a purr escaped her lips.

In that moment, Pidge felt calm. It was like her inner Omega realized that she didn’t need her own baby when her fellow pack-Omega was going to need all the help he could get with his. That was good enough.  
  
“Don’t suppose you’d use that super power to convince Shiro to let me go check out a pretty good lead I have on Matt? It might take me away for a couple days, but we’re in the middle of coming up with our next promotion thing so what does it matter”

Keith frowned at her, and spoke sternly. “After your heat is over, go find your brother Pidge. Leave Shiro to me.”

She smiled a bit at that. “You remember when we first got here? I wanted to leave and you yelled at me.”  
  
He flushed. “Sorry for that…I have anger issues.”

She chuckled. “Computers are easier to figure out than people are anyway, so I get ya.”

The silence that fell over them was comfortable, but then, “…I don’t get computers either.”

Pidge burst out laughing, her head flopping down onto the side of her nest. Her giggles quieted as she got comfortable, one hand still resting on Keith’s stomach, feeling the baby’s movements. She purred as Keith’s hand reluctantly rested on her head, carefully stroking her hair.

She sighed, finally feeling peaceful as she fell asleep.

…

Keith liked his new room. It wasn’t that much different from the old one, though it was definitely smaller and more decorated. Also the bed was bigger so that he and Lance didn’t have to almost be on top of one another (though that would probably still happen anyway).

There were some shelves for different things Lance had collected from other planets, though Keith’s favourite thing was the Altean knife collection that Coran had found. It made Lance a tad nervous, but Keith pointed out that he didn’t have a bayard to summon anymore, and worst case scenario, this meant he had a ton of weapons to protect himself and the baby if he needed it.

Lance was more agreeable to having it on the wall after that.

That being said, no matter the bed, Keith just couldn’t get to sleep. He couldn’t sleep on his back anymore, he knew that was bad for both him and the baby, but he couldn’t get comfortable on his side either. Lance helped because he could rest his belly against him and drape one of his legs over Lance’s. It kept pressure off of things and made it so much easier to sleep. He couldn’t always do that though. It wasn’t fair to Lance to have to deal with the extra weight, especially since it was just going to get worse.

Finally, Keith gave up. He growled with frustration and kicked his blankets off, struggling to get out of the bed. By the time he got to his feet, his was more than a little angry, because this was insane. He still had three months to go, he was going to get a lot bigger. He should not be struggling right now. Actually, in comparison to other Omegas he had seen in the past, he wasn’t even that big. He stormed out of the room, feeling a little bit light headed. He needed to calm down before his blood pressure made him pass out or something.

The nursery always managed to calm him down, so he went in there. It was hard to believe that sooner rather than later, their small baby was going to be here.

His heart raced as he approached the dresser and picked up a very tiny onesie. He held it up to his face and sniffled a little, distress washing over him.

“Keith?” Lance’s voice sounded tired, but it still startled him a bit. He had been working on something in the spare room lately, barring Keith from entering, and stumbling back into their bed so tired that he would just fall asleep almost immediately without going through his nightly routine.

Keith had to admit, he wasn’t surprised that Lance had passed out in the other room in the middle of the day, but he was surprised that he managed to wake him up. Lance could sleep through almost everything.

He seemed to become a little more alert when he saw the Omega nearly in tears. “Are you okay?”

“It’s so tiny,” Keith breathed out as he stared at onesie. “She’s going to be so tiny and helpless and she’ll need us for everything.” He felt almost hysterical. Being pregnant wasn’t _terrible_ , though he knew that he was still in the stage where it was said to be most agreeable, and he was only going to get more uncomfortable in the next few months. That being said, it wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, but at least his baby was safer when she was inside of him. He could protect her from the world a lot easier when she was in there.

“Woah, it’s okay.” Lance wrapped his arm around Keith. “He’s going to have an entire pack and five magical mechanical space lions there for him.” He reached up with his free hand and wiped Keith’s tears away. “Not to mention he’s going to have the most amazing mom.”

“I’m going to suck as a parent,” Keith blurted out almost hysterically. “I don’t know how to raise a kid. My mom left me. My dad tried, but he was an Alpha and he died when I was really young. I must be messed up because none of my foster families wanted me even when I was a little kid. I don’t—I don’t know how to love anyone.”

“Keith…”  
  
“At least she’ll have you,” Keith choked out, looking up at Lance. The redness of his eyes made the violet in them stand out even more. “You’re going to be such a good dad. Maybe…maybe I should just let you keep her and leave. Then I can’t mess her up.”

“No,” Lance said firmly, and that instantly made Keith stop talking, an uncharacteristic whimper coming from him. Lance hugged Keith to him tightly, nuzzling his cheek against Keith’s head. “No, Keith. That’s not an option. Yes, if something ever happens, I will take care of her and love her with everything I have. You don’t have to worry about that.” He rubbed his hand up and down Keith’s back. “You’re my mate. If you think I’m letting you run away because you’re scared, you’re out of your mind.”

“I’m sorry,” Keith blurted out. “I’m sorry I keep backtracking like that. I—I know you care. I do.”  
  
“It’s not your fault. It’s how our minds work sometimes.” Lance sighed. “I think about it all the time. I’ve never really been good enough for anything in my life, but somehow you thought I was good enough for you.” He reached up, running his fingers along the mark that permanently marred Keith’s scent gland. The one that he made.

The Omega shuddered from the contact. “You’re more than good enough,” Keith assured him. He _knew_ that Lance had insecurities too. He found it so hard to help, but he wanted to try. “We all have our things I guess, right? That’s what you mean? That includes you, but you’re the perfect mate. Always able to get me through my bullshit.”

Keith felt Lance smile in his hair, and then the taller of the two whispered, “God, I love you.”

What he said earlier absolutely wasn’t true, was it? He did know how to love. He loved Shiro as a brother. He loved Hunk, Pidge, and Allura as siblings too. He loved Coran as a sort-of uncle. He loved Lance and their unborn daughter more than anything.

“Love you too,” Keith muttered, followed by a deep yawn.

“You’re not sleeping again,” Lance noted, his scent twisted unhappily. “That’s why you’ve been falling asleep more during the day, right? It’s not good for either of you.”

“I know,” Keith said, a little bit annoyed, because he _did_ know. “Can’t get comfy.”  
  
“You know I don’t mind if you lay on me,” Lance pointed out.  
  
He shook his head in response. “I can’t keep doing that. I know it’s not comfortable for you, and Voltron needs their Red Paladin awake. I _can_ take naps during the day.”

Lance puffed his cheeks out, annoyed. His shoulders slumped and he said, “Go lay down. I have something for you. Was gonna get Hunk to make sure it was perfect, but I think you need could use it now. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Keith was curious, and decided to listen. He shuffled his way back to his bedroom, laying on the bed. He snuggled into the blankets that Lance had bought what seemed like a lifetime ago. He wasn’t pregnant back then. Hell, they weren’t even mated at the time.

He closed his eyes, a surprised chirp escaping his lips as soft things were thrown on top of him. He looked up in time to see Lance piling sheets and blankets on top of him and around him, looking rather proud with himself.

Keith reached out to touch them, and the Omega inside of him instantly starting purring with satisfaction. Everything was so smooth and soft. It was perfect to—

His eyes snapped towards Lance, who smiled back at him. “What kind of Alpha would I be if I didn’t get my Omega the nesting materials he needed?”

“You—“

“I’ve been collecting things since you mentioned not having anything good enough to make a nest with,” Lance admitted sheepishly. “There’s something else too, but it’s probably better for you to make the nest _first_.”

Keith struggled to get out of the bed again, and Lance helped him up. He instantly zeroed in on the material, grabbing a sheet before stopping and staring at Lance. “Out.”

“But Keith…”

“Out!”

Lance laughed. “Alright, alright. Let me know when I can come back.” He shook his head and left, very amused.

Building a nest was a very private thing for Omegas. That was something consistent no matter if it was for heats, or for pregnant Omegas. During heats, Omegas usually gathered a couple pieces of clothing of those that they cared about for their nests, along with other things gifted to them by their Alphas. Before giving birth, all members of a pack tended to gift the expecting Omega with nesting material (including other Omegas). Their mated Alpha, of course, provided most of the materials, which were normally swaths of fabric, sheets, and blankets as opposed to shirts, towels or other smaller pieces. These nests were designed to last a little bit longer, to be a safe spot for the Omega and their pup when they arrived, since they were both at their most vulnerable.

Keith struggled a bit to get it absolutely right. He was good at this, but his baby bump made it hard to move. Though he had approved of all his other nests, Keith really hoped that Lance liked this one.

Holy shit, he sounded so much like a typical Omega. He needed to think about knives and explosions for a little bit. The baby kicked him roughly, and Keith chuckled. Apparently she agreed.

By the time he was finished, his nest resembled more of a blanket fort, but that was okay. One sheet was used to create a draped down ‘wall’ and ‘ceiling’, the bottom padded with sheets and blankets that rose up around the outside.

Keith was quiet proud of it. He called Lance back in before he could let his nerves get the best of him.

The Alpha sauntered in, arms behind him, and checked out the nest. “Wow, that’s amazing! Your best one by far!”

Keith felt his heart leap in pride. His Alpha approved of the nest. That was a very good thing. He didn’t respond to that though. Instead, he focused on the large blue thing that Lance was doing a poor job of hiding.

He chuckled and said, “Here.”

“Thanks?” Keith turned the oddly shaped pillow over in his hands. It was so soft and squishy that it almost made him purr like an idiot. Composure. That was a thing he needed.

“I started to make you a body pillow, but Hunk gave me this idea instead.” Lance ran his fingers over the L-shaped pillow. “Your stomach can rest on this part, and then this part can go between your legs. I noticed you doing that with me and remembered my sister doing that too, and Hunk said his sister would do it too. Something about blood flow or gravity? I don’t know. So I thought—“  
  
“You made this?” Keith interrupted. “Just like the hippo?”  
  
Lance’s face flushed. “Yeah. I know I could have tried to use the replicator but doing things with my hands helps with nerves and yeah – I am definitely nervous too. I mean, I’m gonna be a dad, right? Makes sense. And you’re doing all of the hard work, and you barely ever complain about it even though I know you’re in uncomfortable, and I know he kicks you a lot and yeah all those other things cause you’re fucking awesome and –“ Keith cut him off with a swift peck on the lips.

“Thanks.” Keith couldn’t help but smile brightly. He took the pillow and shuffled over to his nest, practically crawling into it and curling around the pillow. He could instantly tell that it was a much better sleeping position. This, he could get used to.

“Hmm, is that all I get?” Lance asked playfully, peering at him.

“You could come and cuddle with me,” Keith suggested. “You look tired too.” It was the middle of the day, but honestly, their sleep cycles could suck it.

“Pull my arm why don’t you?” Lance said sarcastically, climbing into the nest along with him. He brushed his lips against Keith’s scent gland, one hand resting under his own hand, the other splaying across Keith’s stomach. “Love you. Try to get some sleep.”

“Love you.” Keith found himself quickly nodding off, finally feeling truly comfortable and safe.

…

Lance used to love rousing late and go directly into his morning routine. Now he found that he liked waking up nice and early to just observe and cuddle Keith. The Omega used to be up and active disgustingly early in the morning, but now he tended to sleep in cuddled up to the pillow that Lance had made him.

He couldn’t remember ever seeing Keith so relaxed and content. It made the Alpha in him incredibly happy. The only thing that part of him liked more was seeing his mate come undone because of him. That was _definitely_ an idea for later. Keith was always up for sex lately to the point where Lance sometimes found it difficult to keep up with him (honestly the best type of hormones in his mind).  
  
Honestly, Lance couldn’t believe that this was his life now. He had gotten used to the space war thing, but this? This was something else altogether. His brother and everyone else who said he would never be a “proper Alpha” could suck it. He had the most independent and fiercest Omega that he had ever met, and he made him the happiest he’s ever seen him (and vice versa).

Keith shifted a bit in his arms, slowly waking up with a bit of a grumble. “Demon spawn.”

“On your bladder again?” Lance asked, helping him out of the bed. He found that if he didn’t poke fun at the fact that Keith struggled a bit to get up on his own now, Keith was much more receptive to the help.

“Yes.” Keith glared at him as if it was his fault. Then again, he _had_ gotten him pregnant, though it took two to do that and it was consensual from both sides, thank you very much.

A moment or two after Keith left the room, there was an excited banging on the door. Lance jolted up, about ready to go into protective-Alpha-mode, but Hunk called out, “Lance! Keith!”

“Hey buddy!” Lance exclaimed excitedly as he opened the door. “Where’s the fire?”

“Pidge commed in. She’s on her way back. She’ll probably be here in the varga.” Hunk lowered his voice. “Between you and me, she sounded very excited.”

“Really?” Lance’s eyes lit up. “Think she found him?”

“If she didn’t she at least got a really good lead. Hey Keith! How are you feeling?” Lance looked around as Keith came back into the room, still in his black t-shirt and red pyjama pants.

“Tired,” he admitted. “I swear the baby was doing flips all night.” Even if he was incredibly comfortable physically, he couldn’t control what his child did. He cast an unimpressed look at Lance.  
  
He snorted. “Why are you looking at me? That’s all you. Now, the direct shots exactly to the spine or the bladder, now that’s me.”

“Buddy,” Hunk said slowly, “you’re not helping yourself.”

“He’s really not,” Keith agreed before turning his attention back to Hunk. “You were saying something about Pidge?”

“Either she found her brother, or she found a really good lead on him. She sounded so excited earlier,” Hunk said eagerly.

“Huh, she probably found Matt then,” Keith decided after a moment. “If she had a lead to make her that happy, she’d chase it. I know I would have for Shiro.”

“Hey, you knew Matt, didn’t you?” Hunk realized suddenly.

Keith nodded his head. “Yeah. That was how I knew Pidge was a girl. At the Garrison, I got to work with the senior class too, and once Matt and Shiro knew they were going to be on the Kerberos mission together, Matt started hanging out with me a little more.” He rolled his eyes. “He kept trying to get dirt of Shiro.” At first, it had bothered Keith, but soon he realized that Matt was genuinely a nice person, and he didn’t mind interacting with him.

“So…is Matt an Omega like Pidge?” Lance asked casually.  
  
“He’s actually the original Alpha I was going to bond with.” Keith spoke so dryly that Lance actually squawked. Keith rolled his eyes. “Idiot. He’s a Beta.”

Lance eyed his mate. “And?”  
  
“Oh my god, Lance.” Keith sighed and leaned against him. “You _know_ I didn’t look at anyone else that way before.”

He did know that. He knew that Keith had subtly flirted with others before, but never actually considered anyone to be his mate prior to Lance. He knew that he and Keith were mates, and they were going to be parents, but his insecurities didn’t care about that.

“Anyway, I thought you guys should know so you can get cleaned up,” Hunk said happily. “If Pidge really did find her brother, I want to have milkshakes ready!” He practically bounced out the door.

Lance shook his head and then looked towards Keith, a bit taken back by the knowing, yet worried look on his face. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“You’re doing that _thing_ where you start thinking you’re not as good as other people and that’s not true, so knock it off.” Keith crossed his arms in front of him. “I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have joked around like that.”

Lance melted a little bit inside. Yes, the delivery was still very rough, but he really appreciated that Keith was always trying to help him fight those insecurities.

It really meant a lot to him.

“It’s alright. You were just kidding, and I’ll try,” he settled on, knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to get rid of the problems immediately. Keith knew that though. He had his own issues.

They’d work on it together like they always did.

…

Pidge was vibrating with excitement as she walked down Green’s ramp. Everyone had gathered around, and she couldn’t help but smile broadly.

“Guys, I want you to meet someone.” She waved her hand behind her. “This is my brother, Matt.”

Matt was a lot taller than she remembered him, and everything about him looked older. His hair was a lot longer, he had a scar on his face, and there was this look in his eyes that reminded her of the dazed look Shiro had from time to time. It was unsettling, but then he would quickly jump into being her normal goofy brother.

He waved at them, smiling broadly.

“Right, so that’s Hunk, over there is Lance, and I think you know Keith?”

Matt smiled at Hunk and Lance politely, before his eyes shifted over to Keith. He did a double take, eyebrows shooting up. “Uh…I definitely knew a Keith Kogane, but there was a lot… less to him the last I checked.”

Keith narrowed his eyes at him, putting his hand on his stomach. “Fuck off, Holt.”

Matt laughed at that. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just surprised.”  He looked at him almost fondly. “It’s good to see you again.”

Pidge noticed Lance shift closer to Keith and almost snorted. He wasn’t even being subtle. His scent screamed ‘No touch. Omega mine. Pup mine. I am Alpha hear me roar’. It was utterly ridiculous. They were mates, and Matt was a Beta.  
  
When Keith looked away, Lance actually pointed at the Omega’s baby bump, then at himself. He then used two fingers to point at his own eyes before turning them towards Matt. It took everything Pidge had not to laugh at that. Beside her, Matt couldn’t stop himself from smiling and sarcastically saluting Lance.

“Anyway,” Pidge spoke up, drawing attention back to her. “This is Coran. He’s…well…a bit of everything around here?”  
  
“Pleasure to meet you, Matthew.” Coran held out his hand jovially.

Matt shook it and smiled at him. “Nice to meet you too, Coran. You can call me Matt though, since Matthew isn’t my full name.”  
  
“Oh! I apologize! I will do that. Though out of curiosity, what is your full name?”  
  
“Matt,” Pidge said in a warning tone.

“Mathematics Holt,” he replied seriously. Hunk choked, Keith snorted, and Lance groaned while trying to hide his smile.

“Don’t listen to this idiot,” Pidge interjected before Coran could comment on it. “His name is Matthew Samuel Holt and don’t let him tell you otherwise.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I want you to meet Allura.”

Allura stepped forward, a broad smile on her face. “Yes, I’m Princess Allura of Altea, and it’s nice to meet you, Matt. Pidge has told us so much about you.”

Matt didn’t seem to have heard any of that. His eyes went wide, and his entire body froze as he let out a high-pitched whine.

“Oh my god,” Lance muttered, almost able to see the stars in Matt’s eyes as he stared at Allura. “He just met her.”

“Really?” Keith raised an eyebrow. “Do you _not_ remember trying to hit on Allura before she said you have ugly ears.”

Lance’s hands shot up to his head, cheeks burning. “My ears are fine!”

Pidge kicked her brother gently. “Knock it off, drama queen. We still have one more left.” A smile spread across her lips. “Though I think you know this guy over here.”

Matt turned around, and Pidge watched him freeze for a different reason. His shoulders tensed as his eyes landed on Shiro.

A different sound from earlier rushed out of him, and he stumbled forward, stopping right in front of the man. “Shiro! You’re okay! I—I mean…I’m glad you’re okay, sir.”

Shiro laughed and reached forward, tugging him into a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay too.”

Pidge’s heart leapt to her throat as she watched the team meet and accept her brother. She was so glad that she was still wearing her armour so that they couldn’t smell how close she was to crying, even if they were happy tears.

 Soon they would find their father again, but for right now, this was more than enough.

…

Keith didn’t go on missions anymore. However, appearances at meetings and peaceful dinners were put back into the slate when, surprising him more than anyone else, people starting asking about his whereabouts.

The thing was, he didn’t _want_ anyone else to know about the baby. His armour made it less obvious, but even then, if someone looked, they could tell. He also got incredibly anxious when he was crowded, and no one wanted to deal with him accidentally stabbing someone who got too close to him.  
  
So they agreed that Keith’s first appearance could be one of their smaller venues. Literally. They were going to a retirement home for a run-through on some sort of public appearance.

Keith stayed out of the way, to the side, keeping his hands firmly wrapped around his stomach, his blade strapped to his side. As it turned out, his anxiousness about anyone paying attention to him wasn’t his biggest problem. It was the second-hand embarrassment that he felt for everyone else at the disaster of a show.

“Oh my god,” Matt breathed out, having agreed to stay with Voltron to keep Keith company for this first show instead of going back to the rebels. “Oh my god, this is _horrible_.”  
  
“Lance is trying,” Keith said with a helpless shrug. His lip twitched a bit as he watched, torn between hiding his face from embarrassment, or burst into laughter because it was so bad that it was _funny_.

He managed to hold himself together until they were back in the castle. Then he took one look at his mate and burst into laughter.

“Shut up,” Lance grumbled, nudging him gently before burying his face into his neck. “I tried.”

“That’s what I told Matt,” Keith assured him. “You all did. It just…wasn’t a good idea.”  
  
“You can say ‘I told you so’ because you did say that months ago when you vetoed this idea.”

Yeah, that had bothered Keith a little bit, how Shiro seemed to be going back to almost undo half of what he had done, but there was no point complaining about it. Clearly Shiro could see something that he didn’t.  
  
“Well,” Allura said, clapping her hands together. “We _do_ have a meeting tomorrow. The Irakia people were very friendly with Altea in the past. I do hope that they’ll be open to joining the coalition after tomorrow.” She turned her eyes to Keith. “They insisted on meeting all of Voltron, so you and Coran will be accompanying us as well.”

“And I’m taking off tonight,” Matt said as he nudged his sister gently. “Lots to do, right?”

She groaned and shook her head.

“I apologize,” Coran spoke up suddenly, attracting all their attention. His shoulders were slumped. “I had thought that our plan for today would be a hit.”  
  
“It’s alright, everyone struggles sometimes,” Hunk assured him.

“That’s right,” Shiro agreed. “We’ll sleep on it and see how we can switch it up tomorrow, alright?”

“Of course!” Coran agreed, though his cheerful voice didn’t meet his eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to accomplish before that!”

They watched him go, and Lance sighed. “Bad shows happen to everyone.”  
  
“Says the drama-nerd,” Keith spoke out loud without actually meaning to. Hunk snorted loudly beside him, and that seemed to set everyone else off.

He looked around with confusion, not quite understanding what had happened, but if everyone else was smiling, that was surely a good thing, right?

Keith put his hand on his belly, feeling the baby kick beneath it, and muttered to her, “Yeah, they’re all crazy.” They were his family though, and that was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet some of you thought from the chapter title that this chapter was going to be sad or something. Nah, just family and friend bonding while Keith's hormones turn him all weepy (taking the #letKeithCry thing to an all-new-level). He hates it, and will forever pretend it never happened afterwards. 
> 
> Again, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I love starting up discussions, though on that note there is something I meant to mention but forgot to (I'll put it on my profile too). 
> 
> Just so everyone's clear, I am an adult, not a teenager. I will still respond to you if you message me with questions, comments, or even for some writing tips (I do this all the time on other social media), but if you're not comfortable with that, you have all the power to say "I like this story and will continue to read it, and may leave feedback but please don't respond to me". That is YOUR right and it's important you know that. I always just go into discussions assuming that the person I'm talking to may be a teenager and respond appropriately. Sometimes that means serious discussion. Sometimes that means memes. Depends on the day. 
> 
> This little bit of information goes on longer on my profile, so you can check there if you want to see my whole outlook on my outlook for how adults are responsible to create safe spaces online when in fandoms like this (amongst many other things).


	19. In Sickness and Health

Unlike the day before, it seemed like eyes were following Keith with every step he took. His stomach looked the exact same as the night before, but somehow he felt like it was bigger than ever with how the Irakia people kept staring at him.

It reminded him of the Garrison, where eyes had always been on him for a different reason. He didn’t want the attention back then either, so he tended to ignore it. It led to him being seen as snobby and stuck up (like how he didn’t actually remember who Lance was outside of being a cargo pilot), but it was the best that he could do.

Now on this world, he tried to ignore the stares of the strange inhabitants, but he found it hard. They were a strange species, tall and lanky with navy scales and dull, grey markings. They also had large, orange eyes that Hunk had quickly dubbed ‘anime eyes’. It was incredibly unsettling, especially when the eyes continued to stare at him.

These people were supposed to have been friendly to Altea in the past, but a part of Keith honestly didn’t put much stock into that anymore. They had been to planets that were in ruins, some that were now enemies, and some that were just empty, all that had been allies in the past.

10,000 years was a long time. It was certainly long enough for human civilizations to rise, grow, change, fall into disrepair and vanish entirely from history. He always felt sad for Allura and Coran when people simply had no idea what they meant by ‘Alteans’. The Galra were the ones that wrote history now, and Altea was all but forgotten outside of some worlds that managed to hold on to the past.

Luckily Shiro seemed to be on the same wave-length as him about this. It was why he had gone down earlier with Allura and Hunk to talk to them, and he deemed it safe enough for everyone else to come along as well.

Keith wasn’t the type of person to shy away from conflict. He knew how to square his shoulders and face things head on. He had the urge to do that, to turn around and growl at the creepy aliens to mind their own business so he would make them. He actively fought that urge though, because he was trying to not get into any confrontations while he was still pregnant. He owed the baby that at least.

They had on their suits, so no one would have been able to smell his distress (hopefully), and he didn’t want to alert the aliens that surrounded them.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked over as Lance stepped in line with him. He slid an arm across Keith’s shoulders and tugged him closer to his side, not saying anything.  
  
It wasn’t exactly surprising to Keith that Lance was tense and wary. This was the first time he had been on a world that might not entirely be allied with them, and Alphas were generally overprotective of their Omegas as is was. Keith was an expecting Omega, and he had also basically blown himself up before; Lance had every right to be wary. Honestly, Keith kind of admired it. Seeing Lance take charge of situations was honestly kind of hot (he was _not_ going to admit that out loud).

Lance’s blue eyes darted from one alien to the next. He had noticed the staring too, and was not pleased about it.

“I apologize for the behaviour of my people,” the leader said, light orange eyes blinking in Keith’s direction. “We have not seen a being pregnant with a live child in thousands of years.”

“What?” Hunk blurted out. “But you guys have a ton of wildlife!”  
  
“Eggborn fertilized outside the body, or simple mitosis,” they explained. “Not a single species on our world is able to carry live children. Even our species has only survived by combining our genetics in laboratories. Our species once produced children by carrying them similarly to you, but in an attempt of genocide, our ability to breed organically was taken from us.” They blinked at him again. “I apologize. You are fascinating, Red Paladin.” Apparently the Rabbit World wasn’t the only place where chemical warfare that sterilized a population was used. It was disgusting.

Lance straightened up, lips twitching like they wanted to twist into a snarl. His grip on Keith tightened a bit.  One of Keith’s hands twitched, ready to grab his Marmora blade if he needed it, the other rested protectively on his abdomen.

“Do not fear, Blue Paladin,” they said. “We mean your mate no harm.”

“He’s the Red Paladin,” Keith said suddenly, motioning towards Lance. He then pointed at Allura. “And she’s the Blue Paladin.”

The alien blinked. “Oh.”

Allura walked forward to speak to their leader, and Shiro leaned in close to them. “Keith, it’s probably best if you stay close to someone else while we’re here.”

That comment was innocent, but rubbed Keith the strong way. Almost everything Shiro did lately frustrated him, even when he was trying to be nice. It was kind of ridiculous, but it was what it was.

If Shiro was an Alpha rather than a Beta, it might have made a little sense. It was common for expecting Omegas to get over-protective of their unborn pups around Alphas that weren’t their mates. It was less common if those Alphas were part of their same pack (though still possible), and Keith was fine around Hunk so that wasn’t it.

Pidge suggested that Shiro just seemed very Alpha-like, and maybe Keith was subconsciously labelling him as one. It still didn’t really make sense though.

Lance gently knocked his helmet into Keith’s. “I’m not going anywhere. No worries.” They stayed back a little bit away from everyone else, well aware that eyes were constantly directed towards them. Lance growled slightly and said, “I have never wanted to punt something at so many people in my life.”

“Not even at me?”  
  
“Dude, you were my rival, but I never wanted you to get hurt.” He looked a little ashamed. “Maybe at one point I was okay with a bit of public humiliation, but that was old me. I’m older and wiser now. I’m a mature, handsome, caring sharpshooter, who happens to be mated to, and expecting a baby with, a part-alien hottie.” He winked at Keith. A pleasantly surprised smile bloomed on Lance’s face when Keith laughed, genuine amusement in his eyes. It was nice to see, since he had been so tense lately.

“Idiot Alpha,” Keith said affectionately.  
  
“Here I am, complimenting you, and all I get is idiot. You wound me, man.”

“What would you like to say? That you’re absolutely the best shot I know? Or that I think it’s hot as hell when you get all protective and take control of situations? That it’s pretty much a turn on? Hmm?” So much for not telling him about that. Oh well. Ride or die.

“Keith!” Lance squeaked, his cheeks burning, causing the shorter of the two to snicker. “You can’t just say that!”

Keith leaned into him more. “I do what I want.” He looked around, realizing that some aliens were staring again. “These people give me the creeps. They’re looking at me like they want to cut me open to see what’s going on inside me.” His voice rose slightly in distress at the horrible images of his baby quite literally being ripped out of him. Why did his mind always do this to him?

“They’re not going to touch you.” Once again, that primal growl tinted his words. He was absolutely in protective Alpha mode. Okay, maybe it made him swoon a little bit. Only a little though. Damn Lance. This was not just a little bit of swooning. Damn hormones, making him want to jump his mate at the most inappropriate times (also known as pretty much all the time).

Keith wasn’t sure why they needed to be there for these talks, though Allura did once tell them that it was a show of unity and let people see that Voltron was indeed back (and the fresh air was admittedly nice). That being said, apparently these creatures didn’t need to sit at all, because there were no seats to be seen.

In normal circumstances, Keith would have been fine. A very pregnant Keith with ankles that were starting to swell a bit was not fine though. They hurt, and his back was starting to ache a slightly as well. It was making him irritated, tired, and hot. Not to mention that he _still_ wanted to jump Lance, even if he was feeling shitty in every other aspect (seriously, what was up with that). He was so glad that he was wearing his armour that blocked his scent. It would actually be embarrassing at this point.

Lance shifted a bit, looking at his face with a pinched brows and a frown. He reached a hand up, gently running a knuckle against his cheek. “You okay? You’re breathing funny.”

Keith’s already warm skin flushed from the affectionate gesture. He was used to it, but he was also turned on so there was that. He wanted to lie and say that he was fine, but stopped himself. He had sworn to himself that he wasn’t going to lie anymore. Not to mention he was a bit short of breath.

“Keith?”

His eyes met Lance’s worried ones as everything started to spin. Then it all went black.

…

“Keith!” Lance caught him as his eyes rolled back in his head, and his body started to fall. He held the Omega close as everyone crowded around them.

“What happened?” Shiro demanded, shoving himself in front of Hunk to get close to Keith.

“I don’t know. He started breathing funny and then passed out!” Lance couldn’t hide the hysterics in his voice. “He seemed fine earlier!”

“Oh dear.” Coran leaned in close, pressing his fingers to Keith’s neck. “His pulse does seem to be quite fast.”

“Perhaps we could be of assistance?” the alien spoke up. “Despite not being able to reproduce ourselves, our technology is highly advance. If there is a problem, we should be able to find it. Remove the child to a safer place if need be.”

Lance remembered Keith’s terrified tone moments before when he talked about them wanting to take the baby from him. He actually did growl, startling everyone else. “No.” Shiro looked like he was about to protest, but Lance persisted. “ _My_ Omega. _My_ pup. We’re going back to the castle. Now.” He didn’t care if this broke down their talks with this. He promised Keith that he wasn’t going to let them touch him, and he meant that.

Something hot and angry washed over him, something that wasn’t his own anger. It took him a moment to realize what it was, and the answer surprised him a bit.  
  
It was the Red Lion, and he was _mad_. Keith hadn’t been his Paladin in a long time, but he had a connection to both of them in different ways. He had been excited to learn about the baby, since apparently he had more of a claim on it than any other lion, whatever that meant. He was just as protective of Keith as Lance was.

Lance managed to pick Keith up, but damn, he was heavy. Coran was at his side in an instant, and Hunk reached out to steady him. Without speaking to anyone else, the three men made their way back towards where the lions were. Lance was glad that Hunk and Coran chose to come with him. Hunk’s presence was calming, and Coran could keep a close eye on Keith.

They didn’t even need to go that far, Red was waiting for them at the entrance of the building they were in, everything about his robotic form agitated. None of them were surprised to see him. When they approached, he knelt down and opened his maw to let them climb up the ramp and inside of him.

Lance reluctantly handed Keith over to Hunk, who sat down on the floor, cradling him. It was almost sweet to see. Coran knelt beside them and leaned close to Keith, no doubt checking his breathing. Lance nervously approached the controls. “Come on, Red. Let’s book it.”

Lance jumped a bit when Hunk made a surprised sound, and he heard Keith groan a bit.

“Oh good,” Coran said, “he’s coming around. That’s a good sign. You keep going towards the castle though, Lance. I would like to get to a scanner that’s more in-depth than your suits. His just keeps saying blood pressure low.” There was a pause, and Lance nervous tapped the controls, keeping his eyes in front of him as the Altean said, “Keith, can you hear me?”

“Yeah.” Relief hit Lance hard. “Why are we in Red?”

“Do you remember what happened?” Coran asked.

There was a pause and then, “Passed out.”

“Right. Can you tell me how you feel?”

“I—” Keith cut himself up abruptly with a pained groan that had Lance turning around.

“What’s happening?” Keith seemed to be curling up into himself a bit as Hunk rubbed his back soothingly.

“Lance, just get us to the castle!” Hunk demanded, his voice stern and unwavering.

Lance bristled a bit, he had the right to be worried about him mate, but Hunk was right, he had to land Red properly.

The second that they touched down, Hunk scooped Keith up, and the three of them hurried towards the infirmary, Lance nervously keeping pace beside him as Coran led the way.

“Hey,” Lance said, trying to keep his voice calm as Keith opened his eyes.

Keith tried to reply, but grimaced again, leaning against Hunk. Fear rushed through his tired eyes. “It’s way too early for them to come.”

“Where is the pain most intense, Keith?” Coran asked as they moved into the infirmary. He motioned for Hunk to put him onto one of the beds.

“Back,” Keith muttered. He grimaced and said, “Need to turn on my side.”  
  
“I got ya.” Lance reached out to help him twist around.

Keith took a few deep breaths and nodded his head. “Better.” His face relaxed, and he closed his eyes again, breathing levelling out. He felt safe enough around them to be completely vulnerable.

“Do you remember how you felt before you fainted?” Coran asked Keith, keeping his voice low.

There was a pause, and Coran almost asked again, when Keith said, “Tired. Sore. Hot. Dizzy.”

“He was short of breath too,” Hunk added. “Right Lance?”

“Yeah.” Keith’s eyes instantly snapped to Lance as he spoke. This encouraged the Red Paladin to reach out and grab his hand. “They offered to look at you on planet, but we brought you back here. I promised they wouldn’t touch you, right?”

“Yeah.” He repeated again. “What’s happening now?” His words came out a little clearer than before.

“Just a scan to see what’s going on,” Coran assured him. “Let’s get that armour off of you so we can get a really clear scan, yes?”

Keith nodded, and the three other men helped him out of his white and red armour, and then his black under armour. It left him in only his undershirt and leggings. He shivered from the coldness of the room, and that prompted Hunk to move. He grabbed a blanket and put it around the Omega’s shoulders.

He felt lightheaded again, groaning and laying back, rubbing his forehead.  
  
“What’s happening?” Lance asked, hovering beside his mate nervously. “Coran?”

“Just a tick! Don’t worry, you can stay on your side.” Keith’s shirt was pulled up, and the iridescent fabric was placed on his very round stomach again. Coran activated the scanner, experienced eyes looking over the screen. “Let’s see here…the baby seems fit as a fiddle and there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with Keith.” Coran smiled at him warmly. “You’re not in labour. This isn’t even false labour.”

Keith breathed out, and asked, “So why did I pass out?”

He had a point, Lance thought, because that didn’t happen for no reason.

Coran narrowed his eyes at the results in front of him. “That is a very good – oh! I think I see!”

“What is it?” Lance asked nervously.

“From the looks of it, the baby was putting pressure on Keith’s vena cava, a large vein that carries blood from the lower body to the heart,” Coran explained. “Seems like the little sprite is growing so much that when they decided to have a nap, they put a lot of pressure on you.”

“So to summarize, the baby’s napping on a very important vein, but they’re both okay?” Hunk clarified anxiously.

“Correct!”

“And that pain?” Keith asked tiredly.

“Would be because of that, as well as leaning on nerves.”

Keith tried to push himself up into a sitting position, and Lance was quick to slid his arm under Keith’s back to help him. Keith yawned, leaning onto Lance slightly. He looked down at Keith before looking up at Coran. “Is this going to keep happening?”

“It’s possible,” Coran admitted. “I think Keith would be the best one to answer that though. He’s the one who feels the little sprite move around.”

“She’ll move,” Keith assured them, hand on his stomach. “Too hyper not to.” He looked towards Lance. “Can I just _not_ go down to worlds for meetings?”

Keith question startled both Lance and Hunk, especially with how pleading it sounded. Coran sighed a bit and reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder. “No, you don’t have to. We wanted you to know that you were still included, that though Shiro may pilot Black, you will always be a Paladin of Voltron. That being said, I will personally make sure that you don’t have to go anywhere anymore. We’ll call it leave.”  
  
“I can’t believe Voltron has maternity leave,” Hunk whispered, and Lance snorted, the tension leaving him.  “What are the benefits?”

Keith chuckled a bit at that. He shifted a bit, wanting to stand up and get some actual clothes on. He stopped a bit when he saw the image of the baby on the scanner that was still in Coran’s hand.  His belly was so round that even when he sat up, the iridescent cloth was still in place.

The man caught sight of this and smiled. He tapped a couple buttons, and the projection appeared in front of him, just like the first time he had scanned Keith.

Keith stared at the blue projection of the baby (they definitely looked bigger from before and more developed), hearing Lance inhale sharply beside him. Hunk gasped in surprise too.

Keith reached out and touch the projection, before narrowing his eyes briefly before they softened. “Oh.”

“Oh? What’s oh?” Hunk asked, sounding a bit alarmed.

Keith smiled and reached for the scanner, turning off the projection. He chuckled and asked, “Did you see it?”

“See what? No?” Hunk looked entirely confused. He turned to Lance, who shrugged and shook his head.

Keith chuckled and finally stood after Coran took the cloth away. Lance wrapped the blanket around him, and kept his arm around his waist. He was terrified that he’d pass out again.

The Omega glanced at the Pack Leader, before turning to look at his Alpha smugly. “I know their sex.” Dynamics weren’t presented until teenage years, and only those with just male or female reproductive organs could narrow it down a bit, so most people didn’t focus on that with infants.

“What?” Lance and Hunk both yelped. Coran laughed, his eyes twinkling. He clearly knew too.

Keith didn’t answer, moving out from under Lance’s arm, but still holding the blanket close as he moved out of the room. Apparently he wasn’t completely okay though, because he wobbled a bit, and Lance was instantly at his side again, holding him steady. “Hey, take it easy. Where are you going?”

“To change,” he answered.

“I’m going to check in with the others, let them know that you’re okay,” Hunk said.  
  
“He’s going to complain that you won’t tell him the sex of the baby,” Lance translated for his friend, who pouted a bit in response.

Keith grinned and leaned onto Lance, shaking his head at Hunk. All three of the other men in the room laughed at his behaviour.

When they got back to their much warmer room, Keith shrugged off the blanket and stretched his arms out. He felt the baby shifting inside of him, and prayed that they’d find somewhere else to nap on. He’d take his bladder over that again.

Indigo eyes trailed over to where Lance was struggling to remove his own armour. He chuckled and helped him pull it off.

When Lance could see again, the first thing that met his eyes was the Omega’s affectionate smile. It was an incredibly handsome look that Lance instantly wanted to see as much as possible.

Keith helped him get his under armour off, and Lance stretched much like he had earlier. “That’s definitely one way to get out of a meeting.” He paused and eyed his mate. “Please don’t do it again.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Keith pointed out. “Not like I can control where _she_ sleeps.” A smile that made Lance’s heart race graced his features. “You said you’d protect us, and you did. Me and _her_.”

“Her?” Lance repeated, his voice soft. Keith had been using that pronoun since everyone found out about the baby, but Lance knew that he had just been guessing. Hearing it now meant something else.

An amused chuckle escaped Keith’s lips. “Looks like I was right.” 

Lance was silent for a moment as he processed this, and then laugh whooped and laughed. He hugged Keith as close as he could, which wasn’t exactly easy when they were facing one another. “Her! We’re having a daughter!”  
  
“We’re having a daughter,” Keith confirmed, quite pleased with himself as he nuzzled closer to Lance. He hummed happily when the Alpha kissed him.

Keith pulled away and stared at Lance expectantly. It took the Alpha a couple seconds to catch on, but his Omega had a very distinct scent when he was in the mood. “Oh my god, seriously?

“Yup.”

“You got something weird going on, Dude. Every time something happens to one of us you want to jump my bones. Like, I’m not complaining, but it’s a bit strange.”

“I told you before. It’s the rush of knowing things are okay,” Keith pointed out. “And you like it just as much.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Lance was all for sex, but not at the expense of Keith’s health. Sometimes he needed to be the rational one. “If she’s leaning on your veins or arteries, and we get your blood flowing too much, you might pass out.”

Keith pouted. “But I really want to.” He eyed him. “I wanted to back on the planet too. It was running through my mind the _entire_ time. Plus, you know, like you said, I always feel like jumping you after some kind of hospital thing anyway, right?”

The Alpha snorted in amusement, though he was also a bit flustered by the fact that Keith had been thinking about him that way all day.

“Tell you what, we wait a few hours to see how your feeling. If you’re not at all lightheaded or dizzy, _then_ we can have all the sex you want.”

With an annoyed huff, Keith leaned his head onto Lance’s shoulder and nodded his head. “Fine. But then I’m going to ride you into the bed. Been thinking about it all day.”  
  
“You can’t just say things like that!” Lance said, his face burning as he pictured it. He would have liked to be the one on top since that hadn’t been able to happen in a while now, but there were only so many ways that didn’t put the wrong type of pressure on Keith’s body, but you know, having his very hot, pregnant Omega on top of him was just fine in his books.

Damn, now he was getting himself worked up. He groaned a bit, and Keith looked entirely too smug. “Later. Not now. If you pass out during sex, it will never happen again. I’ll be way too paranoid.”

“Fine, fine,” Keith said with a wave of his hand. He glanced at him. “We can at least cuddle though, right?”

A warm smile crossed Lance’s face, affection dripping from his voice as he said, “Of course we can.” He completely ignored the smirk on the Omega’s face.

It was only later that he realized Keith’s version of cuddling was a lot more handsy than it normally was, designed to drive him crazy but not push him too far. He ended up giving in to what Keith wanted much quicker than he was proud to admit.

Who was he to deny his Omega though?

…

Voltron was more than just a robot. The lions alone were built in Altea, though at the same time, they weren’t really built at all. It was more like their construction was loosely guided, and they made themselves. The fact that they could think and feel for themselves said a lot. The fact that they could bond with their Paladins said even more. When they came together as Voltron, it wasn’t just the lions, it was the pilots coming together.

Voltron was powerful, able to pass through realities with ease, and slaughter entire fleets if it needed to. It was a legend. It was a symbol.

That was what they were focusing on now.

“We can’t win this war on our own,” Allura told them bluntly. “We need allies.” They couldn’t just rely on the worlds that they saved. They needed to reach out to others.

The airshows had been born from that sentiment, and Keith had thought that they were utterly ridiculous. Not to mention the second-hand embarrassment he got from the failed show a few days ago still tingled inside of him when he thought about it.

Now Coran had seemingly gone off the deep end and were getting them not just to reenact their victories, but to hold full-on ice shows.

When the Paladins had arrived on the castle after the first one, they had all found Keith in the lounge, his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking. Matt was still there (though he was supposed to leave later that day), sitting beside him with a wide grin on his face.

“Hey, are you okay?” Lance asked, crouching down in front of him. He cast a glance at Matt, because if he was smiling, surely it couldn’t be bad.

Keith looked up at him, eyes rimmed red with unshed tears. He took one look at Lance and burst into nearly hysterical laughter. Tears streaked down his cheeks and Keith couldn’t remember the last time he laughed this hard.

The shows were big and ridiculous, though they actually did seem to be working. Crowds loved them. Keith had been so opposed to this type of thing before, but once it was decided that he’d be safely tucked away out of sight, watching with whoever happened to be recording the shows, he found that he actually enjoyed it. He thought they were _hilarious_. Even as everyone seemed to fit into the roles they were playing, it was still funny enough for him to worry that he was going to laugh his way into labour at one point and it was still too early for that.

Then there was the merchandise. He had found out about it before any of the other Paladins, and the sheer _joy_ that hit him at the sight of it all was unfathomable. He had been given one of everything (he offered to pay but that wasn’t happening apparently), proudly showing his collection off to everyone else afterwards.

“It’s for the baby,” he insisted. “How many kids get to say their parents and family are action figures? Or on keychains? Or whatever this thing is?” He held the alien toy upside down, not understanding what it was supposed to do. “God, I hope they make plush toys of the lions next.”

Much to his delight, the next show there were plush toys of all the lions.  

There was something very enjoyable about watching these stick-people act as Zarkon and Haggar. Keith kind of got the feeling that he enjoyed these shows more than any of the other Paladins (though they were really getting into it, especially Lance), but that probably stemmed from the fact that he didn’t have to participate in it. He couldn’t even try to save face and pretend to be annoyed with them. Things had begun to bore him on the castle ship (there was only so much Galra stuff he could translate to English), and this was a great distraction.

Also it was hilarious seeing Allura act as ‘Keith’. Though that had led to people asking where Keith actually was (which kind of surprised him). Given that he was nearing his seventh month of pregnancy, and showing it, he insisted that everyone keep their mouths shut. Those that he sat with during the shows were sworn to secrecy, something that they all eagerly agreed to. Apparently being in on such an important secret with the Paladins was a big deal.

They all agreed that it was best for Keith to not make appearances himself, to stay hidden, for the rest of the universe to remain ignorant of his current condition.

Too bad Coran didn’t agree.

During one of the later shows, when they were starting to wear on the other Paladins. Even Lance, and he was born for the stage. His arial dance things (as Keith liked to call them) did really funny things to the Omega that usually wound up in him eventually jumping his mate in privacy.

Coran seemed to be trying to make the showers bigger and flashier, to bring new, exciting aspects into it even though everyone was just getting tired. Even so, Keith didn’t expect him to say what he did during a brief Q and A with the Paladins (and Coran).

The question had been simple, one asked many times before. The innocent alien had asked, “And where is Keith?”

Lance usually took those questions, saying he was busy with other important things at the moment, but Coran cut him off and said, “Keith is taking a bit of time off. He is still an important part of Voltron, but as you can imagine, being a Paladin isn’t exactly conducive to carrying a healthy child. We’re all looking forward to the birth of his and Lance’s baby in roughly two phoebs.”

All of the other Paladins froze as aliens started asking questions wildly. Keith’s entire body froze as he stared at Coran’s face over the screens.

Of course the Bii-Boh-Bis that he sat with in the private booth knew. How could they not? He was as round as they were skinny. No one else was supposed to know though, so hearing Coran say that so easily, into a microphone so an entire arena on a show that was televised, made Keith _livid_.

The Bii-Boh-Bis had read the situation correctly and got him back to the castle before anyone could hound them for confirmation on what Coran had said. One look at him would have been confirmation enough. Keith couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so betrayed and furious. His hands were shaking, and the corners of his eyes prickled and burned.

He was going to kill him. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had wanted to hurt someone this badly.

The second that Coran came into the lounge, Keith jerked forward, only stopped by Hunk stepping in front of him and placing his hands firmly on his shoulders. “Keith.”

“You asshole!” Keith raged at Coran, trying to go around Hunk. “How could you do that?”

“It’s show-business, Keith!” Coran said, throwing his hands up like he was innocent. “The child of two Paladins? It’s the _perfect_ symbol of the future we’re all fighting for!”

“You think the Galra aren’t watching these stupid shows?” Keith yelled at him, his hand curling around the hilt of his blade. He managed to get in front of Hunk, but the other Alpha still held onto his arm firmly. “You think that I wanted _them_ to know? You thought it was a good idea for them to know that I’m still with Voltron, meaning I’m still in the castle, and I’m _pregnant_? You didn’t at all think that they might take advantage of that?”

“There were some calculated risks,” Coran said with a shrug. He took a step towards Keith, but then Lance moved, standing in front of the Omega with his bayard in his hand.

“If you take one more step towards him, I _will_ shoot you.” Lance’s voice was low and deadly serious in a way Keith had _never_ heard before. “You had _no_ right to do that. None at all.”

Everyone went completely silent. They had all always known that Lance was Coran’s favourite, he basked in it, but his voice was so serious and angry that there was no questioning if he was bluffing or not.

Lance took a few steps back, keeping his eyes on Coran, before turning around to face Keith. Hunk let him go, and he instantly went to Lance. Keith felt like crying and throwing up all at the same time.

“Come on,” Lance muttered to him, holding him close to lead him out of the room.

There was some movement behind them, and Keith looked over his shoulder to see that Shiro had his hand on Coran’s shoulder, anger splayed across his features. The Black Paladin nodded towards them, a sign that he’d try to take care of this.

Keith stayed silent until they entered their rooms, but the second that the door closed, he broke down. He didn’t even move any farther into their living room, he just fell to his knees, held his stomach, and started gasping for breath.

“Keith!” Lance knelt in front of him. “You can hear me, right? Nod if you can hear me.” Keith nodded. “Great! Now I need you to open your eyes and look at me. Can you do that for me?” It was a bit more of a struggle, but he slowly managed to open them, meeting Lance’s. The Alpha was so calm, that Keith felt himself calming slightly.  Lance smiled at him and said, “You’re doing great, Babe. Now breathe for me. Just like I am.” He breathed in and out slow and steadily. Keith struggled a little more with this, but he was eventually able to match Lance’s movement. “Good! Is it okay if I touch you now?”

Keith nodded his head, and practically melted into Lance’s embrace. This wasn’t enough though. This stupid armour was in the way. He scrabbled at his own gauntlet with a shaking hand, but Lance took his hand into his own. He carefully helped Keith out of his armour, shedding his own afterwards.

Somehow, despite his large stomach, Lance managed to lift and carry Keith back into their bedroom. The Omega really appreciated that, because being in his arms was the only way he felt safe now. “Lance, they’ll know. Haggar. Lotor. They’ll know.”  
  
“Probably,” he agreed, holding Keith close. Despite how calm he was being, he could smell just how scared and shaken the Alpha was too. How betrayed he was. “I can’t believe Coran did that. I—there’s got to be something wrong with him. He’s not like this normally. He’s not.”

Keith agreed with that assessment. The Coran that they had been dealing with for the last little while wasn’t the man that he had entrusted his baby’s health to. That wasn’t really Keith’s concern right now though. “We’re not safe here.”

Lance whimpered a bit and held him close. “I’ll keep you safe. I swear it. I’m going to keep you safe, Keith. I won’t let you or our daughter down. I promise.”

He nodded, but Keith wasn’t even sure that Lance believed his own words.

…

Milkshakes were one of the best things that Hunk had managed to whip together in space. It took him a while to be able to simulate flavours, and for him to figure out how to make space ice cream, as well as whip cream, and it wasn’t the exact same, but none of them could complain.

Keith was _obsessed_ with them, and internally thanked whatever led them to finding Kaltenecker.

(Matt was still confused about why and how they had a cow, since the only answer he got was ‘the mall’. He asked about it _every_ time he came by, and never got a proper answer. It was honestly kind of an inside joke between all of the Paladins now to never explain Kaltenecker.)

Shiro was off somewhere with Allura, and Keith could care less what Coran was doing at the moment (probably planning out another show). He was sitting with Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Matt in the main lounge

Pidge, Hunk, and Matt had been going on with some sort of science thing that had Keith raising an eyebrow at Lance, who just shrugged.

“Don’t look at me. I make babies, not science.” He wheezed as Keith elbowed him in the gut, and the other three were successfully distracted from their conversation, laughing at his plight. “Worth it.”

“You’ve gotta be really far along,” Matt noted as he eyed Keith’s bump.

“Yeah.” Keith placed his hand on his abdomen. “A little over seven months.”  
  
“Two months!” Lance chirped cheerfully. “And then we’ll have a baby!” He paused and side-eyed Keith. “Not eight.”

Keith’s face turned red. “Let it go!” He smacked his mate with the pillow he had brought with him.

Matt looked at Pidge and Hunk. His sister shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”

“So, I have a question!” Hunk changed the topic, leaning forward to stare at the expectant parents. “Did you decide on any baby names yet?”

“You think they’ll tell us?” Pidge pipped up. “They won’t even tell us if it’s a boy or a girl.” She glanced at her brother. “And yes, they know now. They’ve been spot-on at using gender neutral terms, so we don’t know.”

“Really?” Matt looked at them curiously.

“Everyone else has to wait and see,” Lance said playfully with a grin. That grin faded into a pout. “And we talked about names, and the baby _has_ a name, I just don’t know what it is.”

“Uh, if you talked about names, and you picked one, how can you not know your own baby’s name?” Matt asked, quirking an eyebrow up as he sipped his milkshake.

“I don’t know what it is.” Lance stressed the ‘I’ before pointing at Keith. “ _He_ does though.” Keith looked quite smug about this as he enjoyed his own milkshake.

“Aww come on, that’s not fair,” Hunk whined. “I need to know for anything I want to customize!”

Keith stared at the Alpha with unnerving indigo eyes before suddenly turning his attention to the youngest paladin. “Pidge, please enlighten these Alphas – and Matt -  about why it’s fair that I get to pick the name, especially since I wasn’t unfair and talked things over with Lance too, and why I have the right to keep it a surprise for everyone.”

“I got you.” She cleared her throat and held her hand up, forming a small hole with her fingers. “A football is being shoved through this, except this is the part of the human body that you guys like to shove your dicks into for fun, and the football is a living person.” She looked from one man to the next. “I can go into gruesome detail, if you’d like.”

Hunk kind of looked like he was going to throw up. “We’re good.”

They were silent, and then, “Tearing tends to happen.”

“Pidge!” Lance cried out and Hunk clapped his hands over his mouth. Matt burst into laughter. Lance then looked genuinely confused. “Wait, I never thought…but Omegas can, you know, deal with Alpha things without getting hurt that much so why…”  
  
“Alpha things?” Matt asked, sounding more than a little amused.

He flushed. “Ruts and knots and shit you know? So, if _that_ doesn’t do damage then why…”

“Your _sister_ has kids,” Keith replied, sounding scandalized as Pidge started cackling.

“I never asked her the specifics about her junk!”

“Omegas are built for it, you know, longer and more elastic vaginas and all,” Pidge managed to say. “But like—you don’t go _into_ the cervix or anything, holy shit. That’d be some painful shit right there. Your school’s sex ed must have been horrible.”

“Anyway,” Keith shook his head at the ridiculousness. “Even before the birth, what we’re actually talking about, they jump on my bladder, sit on my veins, kick me in the ribs, make me feel sick and gassy, make me tired, turn me into an emotional wreck, and make me sick of our primary food source, just to name a few things.” He raised an eyebrow. “I get final say in names.” The silent ‘fight me’ was heard by all of them.

“Noted,” Hunk said weakly, no doubt wishing they could erase this conversation from his mind.

“You know, I’m not sure if my parents will be happy or angry with me,” Pidge spoke up. “Watching you go through this really solidifies the fact that I don’t want kids. Looks like you gotta adopt, Matt. Oh my god! Adopt a bunch of alien babies! It’ll make dad’s day!”

“There’s an idea! We’ll make a list!” Matt said while pointing at her. He glanced towards Keith again. “Just think, you don’t have to go through all that for much longer, right?”

“Don’t talk about it!” Lance squeaked, ignoring the fact that _he_ had been the one to bring up that there was only about two months left. “You’re going to jinx it.” As if on cue, Keith suddenly groaned and pressed a hand to his stomach. He hunched forward a bit, and Lance’s hands were instantly on him. “Are you okay? I told you it would jinx it!” Everyone else had jumped up and crowded around them.

“It’s okay, I’m fine,” Keith assured them as he sat back up. “Holy shit that’s an angry baby. Kicked the wrong place.” He took a deep breath. “Sorry. They don’t do that often, but sometimes it hurts like hell.”

“I think I just lost ten years of my life,” Lance muttered, leaning his head against Keith’s shoulder. “Quiznak.”

“Sorry.” Keith repeated, patting his back. He looked around almost helplessly to the others, clearly looking for a chance of subject.

“So, Matt,” Hunk spoke up, instantly gaining his attention. “You said that you were coming to see our show tonight, right?”

Matt’s eyes lit up. “I wouldn’t miss this mess for the world! Gotta buy all the Green Lion merch! My sister’s an action figure!”

Keith watched Matt and Pidge interact, and couldn’t help but smile, his hand resting against his stomach. Maybe he wouldn’t be completely opposed to giving his child a sibling one day if they had the potential to get along like Matt and Pidge, but for now, he just wanted to get through this pregnancy.

…

Despite the masks they wore, Keith could feel the eyes of the Blade on him. They didn’t say or do anything, keeping on task for the meeting that was going on, but every once and a while, he got the feeling that they were eyeing him.

To be fair, he was technically accepted into their group. The fact that he carried around his luxite blade as his primary weapon now (having given his red bayard to Lance, and then the black one to Shiro) showed that. They had _known_ that he was a Bearer, hell, Kolivan himself had known that he was expecting. It was why he hadn’t gone to train with them.

Once the meeting was over, Coran corralled the other Paladins for a rehearsal for their next show down in the arena, Keith giving them a wide birth. He still didn’t want anything to do with the Altean at the moment (Lance told him that he got _a lot_ of questions about Keith and the baby, which just put him in a worse mood).

Kolivan’s decision to talk to him couldn’t have come at a better time. Keith looked up at him, and the Galra said, “It would appear that your kit’s development is going well.”

Keith was taken back by that a bit before he remembered that the last time Kolivan had actually seen him, he’d still had a flat stomach, and no one knew. The only reason he could tell was a smell that Galra were attuned to. “Um, yeah. Things are fine.”

“And your mate supports you?”

He pictured Lance, who was probably being absolutely ridiculous in the arena. Despite the fact that he too was getting wary with the shows, he still tried to keep his energy up. He was definitely a drama-kid, and took the opportunity to embrace that side of himself again with zeal. “Yeah.” He couldn’t help but smile.

“That is good.” Kolivan nodded his head approvingly. Keith was slightly confused before he remembered that Galra were all instinctively protective over pregnant Galra, something that applied to him as a hybrid.

It occurred to him that he had a Galra in front of him, and he had some questions. Kolivan might not have been the best person to ask, but he was all that Keith had at the moment. “Not sure you know this, but I was wondering if Galra babies were more active than human ones? Like…how long until they walk? Or are able to hold themselves up?”

Kolivan hesitated for a moment, brow furrowing a bit. Finally, he said, “Galra kits are born with the ability to hold themselves up. Humans are not?”

“Uh, no.” Keith shook his head. “Human pups can’t even hold their own heads up, and they have soft spots at the back of their skulls. They don’t really do anything for a few months, and it can take over a year for them to walk sometimes.”  
  
“Hmm,” Kolivan muttered, though he looked genuinely interested. “Galra kits can hold their heads up at birth, and they can push themselves up. It takes a little time for them to crawl and then walk, but normally around six phobes.” Six months. “Kits often communicate their needs non-verbally.”

That gave Keith pause. His father had told him that he was a quiet child, but one that seemed to be running around other kids his age with ease. That was probably his Galra genetics at work.

He couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, his difficulty to communicate with others was partially due to that too. He knew it was largely because of how he grew up, but it was interesting to think that a part of him was designed to communicate through actions, not words.

“There is, perhaps, another Blade that may be able to answer your questions better,” Kolivan said slowly. “She is on assignment undercover, but I can recall her.” There was something odd about his expression.

“Take someone off assignment?” Keith raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t like the Blade at all.

“Half-Galra sometimes experience more trying births due to their mixed heritage,” the Galra explained. “As Bearers near the birthing process, they become highly territorial, and will often push others away, even the Giver that sired their kits. Galra desire to be alone during birth, and

it is widely known that it is almost suicide to get between a Bearer and their kit. For a hybrid such as yourself, behaviours like this may lead to accidental endangerment.  She might be able to help.”

The thought of isolating himself due to his instincts and something bad happening had Keith shuddering.  He shifted uncomfortably. “I take it she’s a half-Galra that went through this?”

Kolivan hesitated again. “Her child is a hybrid. She might have a better idea of what you can expect.”

Keith was completely lost about how his mixed genetics could impact him beyond his ‘super heats’ (thanks Lance), and any bit of information would be appreciated. It was still odd that Kolivan was willing to recall a Blade from their assignment, but he wasn’t going to question it.

He felt his daughter move inside of him, her tiny hands pressing against him so that he could feel it with his hand. There were so many factors that could make his pregnancy different from a normal one, but it had been rather straightforward so far, much to his relief. He just hoped that it kept going that way.

He could deal with a baby that was a little more mobile and quieter than the average human baby, so long as they were healthy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up for people who want to have a baby some day: they absolutely CAN cut off proper blood-flow at times, or hit/rest on nerves that cause a lot of pain. It's not that common for it to happen at the same time, but Keith biology is a little different from a normal person's, and I'm just pumping up drama here instead. 
> 
> I know that Bii-Boh-Bi was a specific alien, but the species isn't named and that's basically all they say, so here we are. Keith doesn't really care for remembering specific alien names anyway. 
> 
> I find the headcanon that Keith is lactose intolerant hilarious, but that's no the case here. I gave him a break. Let him enjoy his milkshakes! 
> 
> And if there's any confusion, sometimes Matt's around, sometimes he's not. There's really no consistency. Why? Well, he skips back and forth between Voltron and the rebels a lot, and also this chapter and the last one had a lot of scenes that were rearranged and rewritten, and I just said 'eff it, it stays as is'.
> 
> Also, no one means to be insulting by calling Keith a 'hybrid'. It's more of a clinical, cold, scientific way to look at his biology. You can probably tell why calling someone 'hybrid' might come across as insulting though. Can you guess who Kolivan's referring to here? I'm not trying to be subtle about it!


	20. Blindsided

Hunk’s fingers twitched as he resisted the urge to shove his pinky finger into his ear to make sure that there was nothing crawling around in there. The thought that something could crawl in there and affect his _brain_ was freaking him out more than a little bit. For what it was worth, Pidge seemed to be of the same mind frame, not bothering to hide her _disgusted_ features.

“A brain worm,” he muttered and looked over at Lance.

The other Alpha held Keith close to his side, and the look on the Omega’s face almost made Hunk laugh. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than where they were right now. Not only had Lance convinced him to come and watch their last show (he only agreed if he could stay in the private box again), which turned into a behind the scenes disaster since Coran set a real monster on them. Then, on top of that, they found out his recent behaviour was due to a bug.

Needless to say, Keith seemed all kinds of put-out. He looked at Hunk and muttered, “Ear bug.”

“Ear bugs,” Pidge repeated with a shudder.

Coran walked into the room, drawing the attention of Hunk, Pidge, and Lance. Keith took one look at him over his shoulder before turning away again.

The Altean cleared his throat. “I just wanted to apologize for my behaviour. I treated you all horrendously.”

“Well,” Hunk spoke up, “you were a little batty, yeah, but it got a lot of people on board with the coalition.”

  
“And we got Shiro the Hero out of it,” Pidge pointed out with a bit of glee.

“I still _don’t_ like Loverboy Lance,” the young man in question whined. “I’m a one-man man!”

“And you know,” Pidge added, “the shows were kind of fun.”

“The merchandise was pretty awesome too,” Hunk agreed. They bought some for themselves, some for family members, and made sure to get one of everything that they could find for the baby. “So no harm done.”  
  
“Outside of the fact that the Galra Empire, that everyone, knows about the baby,” Keith toned in sarcastically, shifting away from Lance and crossing his arms in front of him.  
  
Over the past year, Hunk had gotten used to the more cautiously open Keith. The one who smiled more, joked around with them, and actually showed his soft sides – especially in regards to his pup. It made him forget just how harsh and brash he could actually be.

Right now in general it was easy to see Keith as a typical Omega, with his rather massive stomach and the way he always seemed to want to curl up close to his Alpha. In that exact moment though, he was once again reminded that Keith was not, in fact, a ‘typical’ Omega. When he was able to, he was easily the most dangerous Paladin of them all, outside of Shiro. Ferocious with hand-to-hand combat, as well as with his knives, he ran on instincts and gave in to no one. He was part Galra, a survivalist through and through, and Coran had done something to potentially impede the survival of his pup.

Brain worm or not, Keith had trusted Coran, and that trust had been broken.

“Yes,” Coran agreed, shoulders slumping slightly. “That is true. And I sincerely apologize for that as well. There is nothing I can do to take that back—“

“No, there’s not,” Keith interrupted. He headed towards the door, moving rather swiftly despite the fact that his swollen abdomen really seemed to overwhelm the rest of his small frame.  
  
“Where are you going?” Lance asked curiously.

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say. Keith whipped around and actually growled, “Since I have to report in where I’m going to be every single second, I’m going to lay down.” He turned again and stormed away.

“How does he move so quickly?” Pidge muttered, wondering exactly what Hunk had been thinking.

Coran looked down again. “I hope what I did doesn’t add too much stress, it wouldn’t be good for him at all.”

“Coran, you know I love you like you’re my space-uncle,” Lance spoke up, “but you’re going to have to give him time. I know it’s not your fault what happened, Keith knows that too, but it’s best to just leave him be for a bit. I’ll check in on him later.” Lance put his hand on Coran’s shoulder. “I’m still a bit mad too, but I forgive you.”

Hunk sighed. “Well, I’m pretty sure this day can’t get any worse.”  
  
“Don’t say that,” Pidge whined. “You’re going to jinx it.”  
  
“Sorry, sorry.” He stretched out. “I’m going to get out of my armour and get something to eat. Skating like that always makes me hungry.”

Murmurs of agreement came from everyone else, and they all headed towards their own rooms. As they left, Hunk took a glance back at Coran and frowned. He felt really bad for the Altean man. He had just tried to help and made an honest mistake.

He hoped that Keith would forgive him soon.

…

“Hey Babe,” Lance said as he peered into the nest. Keith was laying with his back towards him, curled up as small as he could with his arms around his stomach. Lance crawled inside of the nest, wrapping his arms securely around his mate. “You’re safe here. Even if the entire Empire knows.”

“What if we’re not?” Keith said with a sniffle, and Lance’s heart dropped. He hated when Keith cried. “I’m the weak link here right now, and we all know it. I’m useless, just sitting around day after day doing nothing. I’m weak, I can’t fight.”

“You’re not,” Lance assured him. He had to admit though, he had nightmares that the Galra decided to hit Voltron by taking Keith, by hurting him or the baby. It kept him up sometimes. “God, you’re not. You have such an important job right now.” He rubbed his hand against his stomach.

“Yeah, push out and raise kids,” the Omega said bitterly, causing his mate to wince. Lance knew that it was exactly what Keith never wanted to be. He knew that his mate loved him, knew that he loved their baby, but Lance also knew that he wanted to do something to help, to be useful in his own right that didn’t have to do with carrying their child.

“You’re right, you do need to be doing something else,” Lance said. It was going to keep chipping at Keith’s mind if he didn’t. “There are only seven of us – eight when Matt’s here – in this giant castle. There has to be things we’ve been neglecting, things that you can help with that aren’t – you know – chores and shit. I _know_ there must be ways you can help while keeping yourself and our pup safe.” He paused. “They’ll be here in less than two months.”

“I know,” Keith curled up a little more, a spike of fear rushing through his scent. They were silent for a moment before he muttered, “I’m sorry for snapping at you. I just feel so useless. The Galra could show up here at any moment and there’d be nothing I could do about it.”

Lance nuzzled him gently. He was all tense, his muscle wound up and tight. He frowned a bit at that and drew away slightly. “Come on, let’s head to the pool for a bit. You need to burn off some energy after everything that happened today.”

Keith was silent for a moment before muttering, “That’d be nice.”

He allowed Lance to pull him up, but then he froze. He grunted loudly, curling in on himself slightly at the wave of pain that hit him.

“Keith?” Lance called out, highly alarmed.

Keith breathed in and out deeply before saying, “I’m o—ugh!” Another wave of discomfort hit him, and he leaned onto the shaking Alpha. “I think I need to go to the med bay.” He couldn’t stop the fear from tinting his voice. This couldn’t be contractions. Yes, in theory, the baby could be delivered this early and survive, especially with Altean technology, but he’d rather she stay in there until she was really supposed to come out.

Lance helped him towards the med bay and onto a bed, scrambling for one of the scanners. He turned it on and stared at it for a moment. “I have _no_ idea if this is saying you’re going into labour or not.”

Keith groaned. He didn’t want to, but he knew what they had to do. “Go get Coran.” This would be one step towards him being able to reconcile his anger with the Altean. Lance hesitated, and he snapped, “Just go!”

He stared up at the metal ceiling above him, saying again and again that he wasn’t ready for this. He was supposed to have a little more time.

Lance came back in record timing, Coran stumbling in along with him. He wasn’t the only one though. Keith would later learn that Coran had been with everyone else and Lance had burst into the room hysterically going on about Keith being in labour, freaking everyone out.

Coran looked at the results and did another scan himself. He sighed in relief and said, “Nothing to worry about. Just a case of Irotreball.”

They all stared at him and Hunk asked, “A case of _what_?”

“Sometimes when people are close to giving birth their bodies sometimes seem to be about to go into labour but they’re really not,” he explained.

Keith let out his breath in a sigh of relief. He knew what that was.

“Braxton Hicks contractions,” Pidge said. “Okay, that’s fine. Right?” She looked at Keith as she said that.

“I think I lost a year of my life right there,” Keith admitted.

“Just one? I lost 20,” Lance said dramatically. “Don’t do that again.”

Keith sarcastically saluted him, because like he had any control over that. His eyes met Coran’s, and while he didn’t say anything, he did nod at the man in thanks.

…

“Okay. Okay. Okay We got onesies, and sleepers, and pants, and booties, and mittens, and – oh no we need a hat! How could we forget a hat? And a snowsuit! The baby can’t go outside without a snowsuit!”

“Do you wanna say it, or should I?” Pidge whispered to Hunk. Matt sat with Shiro, both talking while looking at some kind of star map. Pidge had been about to growl at them to stop working and take it easy for once, but when she got closer she was pretty sure that they were actually looking at a map from a video game that Matt had downloaded somehow. Either way, they had completely tuned out Lance’s mad rambling.

“I dunno,” Hunk said, eyeing the other Alpha warily. “He might snap.”

Keith was sitting beside Allura, both watching Lance with amused expressions. The Omega pushed himself up a little bit, fixed his mate with a dry stare, and said, “Yes, because they’re going to be going outside to play in the snow so often. Look at the weather out there.” He motioned towards the windows where a galaxy swirled in the distance.  
  
Lance opened and closed his mouth, staring at him with a furrowed brow. “What if we go onto snowy worlds?”  
  
“…Why would I take the baby to a snowy world? Why would I take them onto any world?”  
  
“What if it’s an emergency?”  
  
“Stay in the lions?”

Lance threw his hands up in the air. “Ugh, fine. We won’t worry a lot about the snowsuit but what about formula? We definitely need that!”

Hunk grimaced a bit at that and glanced over at Keith as he moved his arms across his chest. He knew that it was often a sore spot for the male Omegas like Keith that weren’t able to produce milk for their children. Keith didn’t say anything, but his body language screamed that he was uncomfortable, but he was trying to look unaffected.

“Coran and I have that one figured out. Those little squares we were working on? The ones that look like little sugar packets? There’s powder in there that mixes with water and bam, instant baby food! You don’t even have to heat it up! It’s the perfect temperature!” Hunk said excitedly.

Keith actually smiled at him and looked like he was about to thank him, but Lance said, “What about bottles? We need bottles!”

“I thought I was the one that was supposed to be doing this,” Keith said, though Lance clearly wasn’t listening, going off on a paranoid rant. They all understood that he was freaking out and paranoid since the baby was coming sooner rather than later. It didn’t seem to matter to Lance that there was still over a month left. It was only made worse by the fact that Keith had Braxton Hicks contractions that morning _again_.

Lance had clearly gone off the deep end with worry, but oddly enough, this time Keith had been rather calm about the entire thing, insisting that it wasn’t the real deal yet.

It honestly kind of amused Hunk, because now they all _knew_ how Keith actually going into labour was going to go.

“Seeing Lance lose his mind like this makes me glad I can’t have kids,” Hunk said, with a shake of his head.

“Hunk?” Keith spoke up, completely ignoring Lance now. He looked towards the other Alpha, an odd expression on his face. “I never thought, but, does this bug you at all?” He motioned towards his stomach. “I mean, with what happened?”  
  
“You mean how I can’t have kids the same way?” Hunk clarified, and Keith nodded hesitantly. “I admit, it does kind of suck just _because_ it was a part of me that was taken away, but it’s not like I resent the fact that you _can_ have a baby that way.” He flushed a bit. “If anything it’s almost…nice? A relief?”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. I breathed in those chemicals because I put my helmet on Lance.” He smiled. “So seeing how _happy_ your pup makes him – makes you – is real proof that I made the right choice.”

“Oh geez,” Pidge muttered, having been listening to. She wiped her eyes subtly and nudged him. “I’m glad that you’re okay with it. It’d suck if you weren’t. I mean, I’m good with no kids ever, but Hunk, you’d be an awesome dad someday. Probably less nervous compared to this one.” She motioned towards Lance, who spluttered in return.

“Nah, I think I’d be even _more_ of a wreck,” Hunk admitted sheepishly. He just knew that if he was in Lance’s shoes, he’d be even more of a jittery mess. It was how he rolled.

“You know,” Allura spoke up, a mischievous smile spreading across her features, “the Balmerans don’t conceive children like humans, Alteans, or the Galra do. It’d still be possibility.”

“Allura!” Hunk squeaked loudly, and everyone else started laughing around him. 

“Please stop making me laugh,” Keith breathed out, leaning against the Altean Princess. “You’ll make me – I dunno – shoot the baby out or something.”

Her face twisted into one of horror. “That can happen?” Allura eyed Keith as if he was suddenly a bomb that was about to explode. It set him off again. “No! Don’t do that!”

Pidge and Lance lost it at her panicked expression. Through his chuckles, Hunk managed to say, “It doesn’t happen that way. Don’t worry.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks turned bright magenta. “Oh, well, that’s good.” She cleared he throat awkwardly, though her lips ticked up slightly as if she was trying to hide her own laughter.

…

To keep the Paladins sane, Coran and Allura had set the systems in the castle to mirror a typical day and night cycle on Earth. It was rather simple to do, just set the light and noise levels to rise and fall, creating the illusion of day and night.

Keith groaned, cuddling his body pillow close to himself as the room brightened. He actually had a good sleep that night, and didn’t really want it to end.

During the day, Keith found himself getting fairly anxious. They were so close to the baby being born, ‘months’ becoming ‘weeks’ now, no doubt quickly turning into ‘days’, that he tended to get himself easily worked up when thinking about it. He’d putter around the castle, straightening things almost obsessively, and one time he had started sobbing about how Pidge’s room was going to be the death of his baby (Pidge had cleaned it up herself, stating that Matt would be proud of her the next time he visited).  
  
A part of him was happy that this would be over. That he wouldn’t have to worry about the whirlwind of emotions, the hunger, the pains, the nausea, the gas, and the dizziness, amongst other things. He wouldn’t be so exhausted, and would be able to physically exercise and fight again. He wouldn’t have to worry about how he moved, if he fell, or if he occasionally missed a meal.

On the other hand, he would have to give birth, and then he would have a pup that he’d have to take care of, and that was utterly terrifying. It would be so much easier to protect her if she was inside of him, but he was also able to move and fight like he could before, and she wouldn’t be hurt at all.

That was a really odd thought.

At least when he was asleep, everything was peaceful. He was lucky that he didn’t get any type of nightmares, but chalked that up to the comfort he felt now that he had his pillows, his nest, and his mate all in the perfect places.

He felt Lance shift behind him, hands moving over Keith’s, in his opinion, massive stomach. He liked to compare himself to a house now, especially since someone lived in him.

“Three more weeks until they’re evicted,” Keith had said with a straight face to Lance one time, when the Alpha was arguing with him that he _wasn’t_ the size of a house. Surprising them all, _Shiro_ was the one that lost it at that.

Keith kept his eyes closed, knowing exactly what Lance was doing. He talked to the baby all the time, sometimes even in front of others, but there was still something sweet about the way he’d talk to her when he thought Keith was asleep.

“Hi mija,” Lance muttered to his stomach, “it’s Papá again. I hope you’re going to be good to your Mama today and not jump around in him too much. He works so hard to make sure that you’re okay.” He paused. “We both love you a lot, you know. I’m excited that you’re going to be here soon, but I’m nervous too. Your Mama and I both are. Don’t worry though, we have a great pack and everyone else will love you too!”

It took Keith all he had not to cry, because it was just so sweet. How had _he_ ended up this lucky?

They both jumped a bit when the alarm blared. Keith jerked himself up onto one elbow, and Lance almost folded himself over him protectively before he clued in that nothing was coming through the door immediately.

Lance rolled away and launched himself off of the bed, diving for his hastily discarded shirt and boxers. He looked over his shoulder at Keith and said, “Stay here, I’ll see what’s going on.”  He tore out of the room to pull on his armour no doubt. Or he should have been, because that’s what Keith would have done if he could have.

Instead, Keith managed to push himself out of the bed, glaring down at his stomach that prevented him from moving quickly.

He pulled on an oversized t-shirt (that had been provided by Hunk when he got angry over his own shirts not covering his bump entirely), and the wonderfully comfortable pants that Coran had gifted him. He shoved his feet into comfortable sneakers (not bothering with socks because that would mean sitting down to try and put on and then struggling to get back up and it was hard enough to put pants on).

He kept his hand on his stomach and fished for the communicator that he was given. A part of him wished he could put on his armour, since it would form to his shape, but it was too much of a struggle to do on his own at this point, as were most things. Pidge had given him a communicator to help him keep in touch with the others in the times that he wasn’t on the command deck, and didn’t have his armour on.

He stayed silent as he tuned in, but was able to pick up on the fact that there was a lot of anxiety and worry. Apparently something bad actually was happening.

“Keith, are you on comms yet?” Shiro’s voice clearly cut through. “Where are you?”

He blinked with mild surprise at the almost panicked tone of his voice. “I’m here. Still in my room. I was about to head out—“

“I want you to stay where you are for right now,” Shiro cut in, his voice firm. “It looks like we stumbled onto them, and they’re not very happy.”

What? “Why didn’t the castle’s sensors pick it up?”

“There seems to have been a malfunction of sorts,” Coran said, no doubt scurrying around the command deck. “It almost looks like the sensors were turned off.”

Keith narrowed his eyes, because that didn’t make sense. There was only a handful of them in the castle all the time, and no one out of the ordinary was there now. Even Matt had gone back with the rebels a few days ago. There was no way that someone had willingly turned off the scanners and the sensors.

Something nagged at the back of Keith’s mind about it. He couldn’t quite place what he was feeling, but it was like he had the answer, but it was just out of reach.

“Be wary,” Allura added. “If something malfunctioned, it may not be just the scanners, and I don’t think there’s enough of my energy left in the castle to keep the shields at full power. They’ll do under light fire, but we don’t know what’s going on here.”

“It’s alright Allura,” Coran assured her. “We’ve got things in here. Keith, I know you probably don’t want to, but I want you to seal yourself in your quarters and sit down, just for now.”

Keith couldn’t stop the frustrated growl from escaping his lips. He stormed towards the door that led out to the hall, and set it up to lock. It wasn’t quite sealed, there was another way to do that, adding a second layer of protection, but it was good enough for now.

He wanted to pace around like a caged lion, but his wonderful daughter apparently decided that jumping on his bladder was the first thing she wanted to do. He quickly turned his comms off, because no one needed to hear him in the bathroom.

“Come on,” Keith muttered once he was done and went back to his room. “Can’t you take it easy on me for one day? I know you want to come out soon, but you have to wait just a couple more weeks, okay?” He got an answer in a swift kick to his ribs. Keith grimaced at that. “You’re grounded when you come out.” He turned the comms back on.

He waited, not hearing anything over the comms. The others must have shut off communication with him. It was something they had done from time to time, and it annoyed him to no end. He wasn’t some delicate little flower that needed shielding.

Though stress _could_ trigger labour. It was something that had nearly sent _Lance_ into hysterics when Keith got Braxton Hicks pains because of that.

Keith was fairly certain that he was going to go crazy just sitting on his bed, but he valued his baby’s life and he trusted his team mates, so he’d listen to them for now.  
  
If only his younger self could see him now.

Everything jerked violently, the piercing shriek of metal ripping apart assaulting Keith’s ears. On reflex he grabbed the edge of the bed that was sealed to the wall, stopping himself from being thrown across the room. The entire castle seemed to tilt and spin a bit.

The trinkets and decorations that everyone had put around the room flew in all directions, the nest he had spent so much time on falling apart around him, and the case with Altean knives falling off of the wall and slamming to the floor, sending shards of glass and knives everywhere.

Keith breathed deeply, his heart pounding. He knew that this room wasn’t safe anymore with loose, sharp objects everywhere. He struggled to get up, but managed to pull himself to his feet and get out of the door of the bedroom, closing it behind him so no wayward things would fly out at him. He looked around at the pillows and blankets that had been thrown across the living room, the furniture firmly held down to the floor, and the comms instantly came back to life with panicked shouting.

“What’s going on?” he demanded wildly. He thought about retreating and grabbing his armour, but getting it on would be far too difficult, and he didn’t want to be off balance if the castle jerked again. No one answered him. “Coran, what’s happening?”

There was no answer again. That was odd. Coran understood that answering him was usually the best route before Keith went and did something stupid.

“Coran?” Still no answer, and instantly he was alarmed. “Shiro, what’s going on?”

“Keith!” Lance burst in, sounding almost hysterical. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. What the hell is going on?”

“There was some kind of weapon! It destroyed the moon and like a chunk hit the castle,” Hunk sounded just as bad as Lance, like he was about ready to plummet into a panic attack.

“The castle should automatically seal off the corridors to the damaged places,” Allura interrupted. “So don’t worry about the life support systems. You’ll be alright.”

“Okay, but where’s Coran?” Keith demanded, his heart sinking.

“He was probably knocked out,” Pidge reasoned. “It didn’t hit command, but the entire castle looked like it went spinning.”  
  
“Are _you_ okay?” Lance asked again. “Really okay?”

“I’m good,” Keith assured them, cautiously moving towards the door. He knew he needed to give his worried Alpha more than that though. “I was sitting down when everything went spinning and was able to hold on in one spot.”

He opened it and looked through the hall. Unable to hear anything that would imply something was damaged nearby, he closed the door and carefully made his way forward. He didn’t want to end up walking too close to a part that was torn to pieces.

Everyone else was talking over one another wildly, apparently still dealing with the Galra ship on top of worrying about the castle.

Keith froze, hearing some movement ahead of him. He retreated a couple steps, slipping into one of the grooves in the wall. “Allura?”

“Yes Keith?” she grunted, no doubt avoiding something coming at Blue.

“The castle prioritizes the life support systems and the gravity generator, right? So if something was wrong, it would put its power into that?” His heart was starting to race.  
  
“Yes, that’s correct.”

“So if something wanted to get onto the ship while you’re all distracted, they’d probably be able to, right?

The silence that answered him was almost deafening before Shiro suddenly shouted, “Lance! We need to take care of the ships out here first so that no one else gets in!”  
  
“But—“  
  
“Listen to Shiro,” Keith whispered, tucking himself farther back in his hiding spot and falling silent.

He could still hear everyone else talking. Some Galra had more sensitive hearing than others, and he really didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He didn’t want to, but he turned the comms off and stayed completely still. Keith really wished that he had put on his armour, and hoped that they wouldn’t smell him amongst everything else that littered the air at the moment.

It was one thing trying to get through the partially damaged castle to see if Coran was hurt. It was something else entirely knowing that there were enemies on board. He was impulsive, but he was not about to put his baby’s life in danger.

Sure enough, two Galra walked by his hiding spot. He could tell there were only two from the sounds of their footsteps.

“This was probably a bad idea.”

“We took them completely off guard! Do you know how much we’ll be rewarded if we do this? All we need to do is grab the extra Paladin.”

Keith’s breath hitched. The other Galra hummed in agreement. “Why that one though?”

“I don’t know. It’s just what Haggar said. Let’s go. Those old schematics we were given said to go this way.”

 “No, it said to go left.”

Keith eyed the Galra. They weren’t the tallest Keith had ever seen, and he got the feeling that they were relatively young. There were only two. He would have taken them out with ease if he didn’t currently have a child protruding from the front of his body, but instead, he stayed silent.

They were looked for _him_. They were here because Haggar wanted him. This was _exactly_ what he had been afraid of after Coran announced that he was pregnant while under the influence of the brain bug thing. He wasn’t paying attention to what it was actually called.

Once he was sure that they were gone, he slipped out of the hiding spot. He needed to get to one of the rooms where he could secure himself in and—

Keith pause. Coran. He was injured most likely. Keith couldn’t just leave him. Maybe if he could get to him, they could seal command off. It was no farther away than the rooms were. Neither one was guaranteed to be safer than another, and he wouldn’t be alone. Keith wanted to claim that he was super independent, but at the moment he knew he needed help.

Mind made up, he hurried towards the command deck, wanting to get out of the halls as quickly as he could. He stopped from time to time to make sure that there was nothing lurking nearby.

He peered into the command deck, straining his ears to listen for anything. The comms were going wild in the room, and guilt rushed through him when he could hear Lance panicking about him not answering. It took him a moment to find Coran, who was laying behind one of the consoles, unmoving.

Keith rushed forward, moving close to him. “Coran?” It was a struggle, but he managed to kneel down beside the man to check him.

“Keith?” He jumped a bit, realizing that they had probably picked up on his voice through the communicators in the room. “Really? You’re on the command deck?”

“I didn’t know there were Galra on the ship when I left,” Keith said, unable to hide how hysterical he felt. Those Galra had been heading right towards the sleeping quarters he and Lance shared. How had they known _that_ detail unless someone told him? “I couldn’t just leave Coran knocked out here with them on the ship!” He paused. “Lance, I heard some of them. They’re looking for me.”

There was a pause and then cursing in more than one voice and language.

He went to stand up, and then realized there was a bit of a problem. He was having a very hard time actually rising. He growled a bit, maneuvering himself onto one knee before using that to push himself up.

Then a large hand grabbed him. Keith yelped in surprise, grabbing his blade and swinging it around. The Galra holding him hissed and let go, causing Keith to stumble forward. He caught his footing and backed away, holding his knife out in front of him, heart beating wildly.

“Found you,” the large Galra said while looking at Keith. Her yellow eyes settled on Keith’s stomach. “With child, just like they said.” She inhaled, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she seemed alarmed. “Though the witch did _not_ say that you were a Bearer – a Galra.” Keith’s hand with the blade in it twitched a bit, and the Galra held up her gun. “Move, and I’ll shoot you right in the gut.”

Except, Keith knew that she wouldn’t. He was _positive_ about it. The look of hesitance on her face when she smelled his Galra side, on the faces of the others with her told him so. He remembered what Kolivan said. He was a Bearer, currently _bearing_ a child. They were all probably Givers, who were driven by instinct to protect expecting Bearers. He could work with that.

There was an instant commotion from the comms behind Keith. The Galra frowned and said, “Turn it off.” She pressed a button on the gun, causing it to light up. The safety was off. She could very well shoot him with a non-lethal laser.

Keith backed up slowly, not wanting to take any chances, and hit a button that minimized all the screens and turned the sound off. Hopefully the Galra wouldn’t notice that he left the mic on so that the others could hear what was going on.

He kept a calm face, but his heart was beating rapidly. He really hoped that he didn’t end up passing out or anything. A part of him was terrified at what was happening, but then he felt the baby kick, and his mouth pressed in a firm line.

“What do we do?” another Galra whispered. “We can’t hurt him.”

“We won’t,” the one that seemed to be in charge said. “If this one values the child in him, he’ll come without complaint.”

Before Keith could say anything, Coran suddenly sprung to life, throwing one Galra into the other one. He looked at Keith with wide eyes. “Go!”  
  
“But—“  
  
“Go!”

Keith tried to run, he got out the door, but something from the shadows hit his head hard and he blacked out.

…

“He’s a Bearer! Did you hurt him?”

“We had to grab him somehow! Look, his vitals and the kit’s vitals are fine!”

“It was risky. You can’t hurt a Bearer! Enemy or not, it’d be wrong!”

Keith blinked open his eyes and could faintly see the dark grey metals and purple lighting that seemed to make up most Galra structures. Everything was blurry, his head hurt like hell, and he couldn’t move his arms or legs.

A figure suddenly loomed above him, and he could barely make out anything except for purple.

“Hmm, give him a light does of sedatives. We don’t need him completely knocked out, just enough to keep him docile so he doesn’t hurt himself. We wouldn’t want to force him to have a miscarriage.”

Keith’s eyes fluttered as he felt himself fading out again. He tried to stay awake, he desperately did, but he couldn’t fight the drugs, blacking out once again.

…

Pidge forced herself to breath in and out steadily and calmly. Her falling to pieces wouldn’t do much good right now. Her hands were shaking as she tapped into the castle’s mainframes to find something that could help them, something that could tell them what exactly happened.

They had screwed up so badly. Had fallen into Galra hands pathetically easy. Maybe this was Lotor, but he hadn’t been seen in months and surly if he was involved he would have used his comet ship.  
  
If it wasn’t Lotor though, that meant that someone else was pulling the strings with the Galra. Pidge wasn’t surprised about that. They had always known that it wasn’t going to be as easy as ‘kill Zarkon, go home’.

Her fingers spasmed as she remembered that Haggar was still in play as well. She had done horrible things to Shiro. The thought of what she could do to Keith and the baby was terrifying.

At best, whoever had him would probably use the baby to keep Keith in line. At worst, they’d kill the baby, or they’d take it away. Either option would shatter Keith.

She looked up as Allura entered the room, looking far too tired and defeated. She held no poise as she slumped beside Pidge on the floor.

“How’s Coran?” Pidge managed to choke out.

“He’ll be fine,” Allura replied with a nod, her voice tight. “They knocked him out, but he fought hard against them too.” She breathed in heavily, shoulders rising and falling.

Pidge wanted to say something to her, but she didn’t know what. She opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to think of anything. She wasn’t the best at comforting people. They were far more complex than any code or cipher that she had ever come across, and didn’t quite know how to handle it.

The door to the command deck opened yet again, this time revealing Shiro. The man looked like he had aged twenty years since last night. He ran a hand through his hair and came over towards them.

“What do we do?” Allura asked Shiro, sounding almost small.

“I wish I knew,” he replied, crossing his arms in front of him and pressing his lips together. “I know that I’ve been a bit…hard on Keith lately but I—“ He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “How did this happen?”

“From what I can see in the system, it was a glitch,” Pidge admitted, motioning towards her screen. “I—I asked Matt to come already. I know I should have asked but I—“  
  
“It’s okay, Pidge,” Shiro assured her. “We understand.”

She breathed out and nodded. “Right. Well. It looks like a system glitch. In theory, the Galra were nearby and realized that _we_ didn’t know they were there and took the opportunity to attack.” It didn’t sit right with Pidge though. It didn’t make sense, and too much of it was left to chance and coincidence. This attack had been planned and coordinated somehow. “But that doesn’t explain why they went after _Keith_ specifically.”

It wouldn’t be the first time that someone had easily snuck onto the castle though. Ulaz had proven that.

“I’m going to get Matt to double check my work though. I just…I might not be seeing everything right now.” Her voice broke, her shoulders hunching.

Allura wrapped an arm around her, leaning her head on top of hers. Shiro moved close to both of them, easily wrapping his arms around them to pull them into a comforting hug.

Pidge closed her eyes and let her tears fall, trying to ignore the fact that she could feel Allura’s own tears falling, and trying to ignore the way that Shiro’s entire body shook, though his eyes stayed dry.

This was their greatest failure yet.

…

He needed to move. Put one foot in front of the other, faster and faster, to check every nook and cranny of the castle. Surely they were wrong. They hadn’t fallen into such a devastating trap so easily.

Keith was smart. He was a survivor. He was just hiding somewhere and being extra cautious. That’s why he didn’t come out no matter how much Lance called him. It was a good thing. It meant that he was protecting their unborn pup. Their baby.

“Lance…” Hunk said from somewhere behind him, his voice soft and sad.

The Red Paladin abruptly came to a stop. “I didn’t check the east storage rooms!” He was about to brush by Hunk but the other Alpha grabbed his shoulder.

“The east storage rooms were ripped apart.”  
  
Without missing a beat, Lance said, “Then somewhere near there. No one would think he’d go there if it was messed up!” He tried to go, but Hunk’s grip tightened. “Let go!”

“He’s not here,” Hunk said, keeping his voice low and calm.

“Let go!”

“Lance!” Hunk’s voice cracked. “Keith is _not_ here.”

Lance lashed out, throwing Hunk’s arm off of him and shoving him away. “Shut up! I know he is! Why don’t you want me to find him? He’s my Omega, not yours!” He paused and then glared at him harshly as anger tore through him. “That’s it, isn’t it? You want to keep him for yourself!”

Hunk looked like he was about to cry. “Lance…”

“That has to be it!” Lance yelled, poking Hunk’s stomach roughly. “Because if it’s not it means he’s gone! It means the Galra took him and we have no idea where he is! It means—it means I lost my family again.” His voice cracked as she spoke, and then he broke.

All of his anger vanished as Lance fell to his knees. He was going to be sick. He wanted to scream and cry and fall to pieces.

Hunk knelt in front of him and hugged him tightly.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Lance whimpered. “I know you wouldn’t do anything like that. I shouldn’t have said it. I’m sorry.”

“I know you didn’t mean it. It’s fine.” Hunk rubbed his back soothingly.

“They’re gone,” Lance choked out, his entire body shaking as tears rolled down his cheeks. “Hunk, they’re both gone. Keith. Our baby. The Galra took them and we don’t know where they are or what they want with them.” He couldn’t deal with this. He couldn’t. He felt like he was being ripped apart.

Lance thought it had been awful to realize that he wouldn’t be able to see his family back on Earth for a very long time. He didn’t think it could get worse than that. This was _so_ much worse.

Keith had _trusted_ him to keep him and the baby safe. That was a huge thing, because Keith didn’t trust people. Keith pushed them away to keep himself safe. Instead though, he had embraced Lance, had let him in like no one before. Lance broke that trust and let him down.

This was _exactly_ what Keith had been terrified about ever since the shows. Lance wanted to blame Coran, but he couldn’t. He had been the one to tell Keith that it would be okay. That he would be safe.

He really was as worthless as he always thought he was.

“We’re going to get him back.” Hunk said suddenly, his voice stern and angry. “We’re going to get Keith and your baby back. We won’t stop until we do. Maybe Coran knows something, I don’t know. We’ll find him though.”

Lance slowly nodded his head, but all he could feel was doubt.

They were never going to find them. He had lost his family for good, and he wasn’t sure that he could survive this.

…

Coran hadn’t actually seen the final destruction of Altea, but he had seen the breakdown along the way. He had lost his family, and in the end the best thing he could do was stand beside Allura to keep her safe, to guide her. He knew what it was like to lose everything, what it looked like to see eyes that had lost their fight staring back at him.

That was what he saw in Lance, who sat on the floor beside Hunk, holding his legs to his chest. He wasn’t crying. He wasn’t screaming. He was barely there at all.

It made something terrible twist inside of him. He had done all he could at the time, given the situation. They weren’t defeated yet though, and he wasn’t about to let his favourite Paladin lose hope yet. Not when there still was some.

“They were looking for _him_ ,” Coran explained to the Paladins. He tapped his fingers together. “They didn’t realize that he was part Galra though. That surprised them.”

“So what?” Lance asked glumly.

Allura suddenly looked up, staring directly at Coran. He watched with pride as she pieced together why that was a good thing. “Keith’s Galra.” Coran nodded at her, and she jumped to her feet, startling everyone else. “Keith’s part Galra! His baby is part Galra!”

Shiro, who looked so, so tired, stared at her as if she had lost her mind. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Allura spun around so that she was at Coran’s side, staring at the other Paladins. “That has to do with everything! It’s going to keep both him and the baby alive”

Everyone, even Lance, perked up a bit to stare at her.

Coran cleared his throat, eyes turning back to him. “We’ve said over and over that Galra are a survivalist species. Logically speaking, they wouldn’t thrive by harming pregnant Galra or those of another species who are carrying a Galra kit inside of them.” He held his arms out. “It’s against one of their strongest, biological instincts. Givers will _always_ protect expecting Bearers, even ones that aren’t their own, even ones that aren’t fully Galra.”

Pidge pushed herself up a bit straighter, those intelligent eyes piecing together a puzzle that Coran couldn’t quite see. “Does Keith know that?”

“Kolivan informed him of this,” Coran replied with a nod. Keith had asked him about it too, something that he confirmed.

“So what does that mean exactly?” Hunk asked, looking just as thoughtful, but also a bit doubtful. “They’ll kidnap him, but they’ll be careful about it?”

Shiro stood now, his own eyes wide with understanding. “That’s exactly what it means. They’re not going to do anything to purposely hurt him or the baby. That’s good!”

A grunt caught all their attention, causing all of them to stare at Lance. “It won’t matter if they’re taking him to Haggar, will it? Isn’t she Altean?”

Allura’s shoulders slumped slightly. “That is true. Perhaps Lotor…” She looked down and shook her head. “He’s only half-Galra though.” She blinked and suddenly looked towards Hunk and Pidge. “But Keith is the _only_ one we know of that’s Galra-Human, isn’t he?

Everyone was silent, before Hunk suddenly gasped and jumped up, nearly knocking Lance over. “He is! We have his DNA here. We can scan for his specific bio signature like we did with Shiro! The systems are already set up in the lions! I mean, the castle might be useless and we might have to park it at Olkarion for now, but the lions are fine! We just need to calibrate it!”

Pidge jumped up beside him. “That could work! Come one, we have no time to waste!” The two of them tore out of the room before anyone else could blink.

“Shiro,” Allura said, looking towards the Black Paladin. “Perhaps we should talk to the Blade of Marmora. If they have insiders, they might be able to find and extract Keith.”

Shiro slowly nodded his head. “Right. Let’s give them a call.” They both left as well, leaving Coran alone with Lance. It was exactly what he wanted.

He sat beside the young man, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Lance. I need to apologize to you, and to him when we get him back. I couldn’t protect him.”

Lance slowly looked towards him. “You tried. You got hurt trying.” He shook his head and crossed his arms. “It was me. I wasn’t good enough.”

“No.” Coran spoke sternly. “Lance, there was nothing you could have done. We were completely blindsided by this, and I was the one that told everyone you two were expecting.” He paused. “What matters is what you do now. Do you sit here and give up? Or do you fight to get him back?”

Blinking a few times, Lance nodded his head slowly. Coran watched as he slowly came back. “You’re…you’re right. I—I can’t give up now. They need me.” His hands balled into fists. “This whole thing stinks. They were _looking_ for him, coincidentally chilling nearby when the systems went down and they could sneak in?”

“It does,” Coran agreed. He didn’t want to get Lance off task though. “Sometimes every possible bad thing does happen, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. We can fix it afterwards though.” He stood again and held out his hand. “We’re going to work as hard as we can get Keith and your little girl back safe and sound.”

Lance grabbed his hand and let Coran tug him up. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. “I forgot you knew that she was a girl.” His face suddenly twisted into worry. “Keith’s probably going to have the baby somewhere else before we find him, isn’t he?”

“It’s highly likely,” Coran agreed with a grimace. “It’d be a stressful situation, and he is very close to his due date. That is good though, because it means he’s far enough along for her to be healthy. And we both know he’ll fight with everything he has to keep her safe.” He set a hand on his shoulder again. “I know you want to be with him, but getting them both back is what we can focus on now. Picture finding them and actually getting to meet your daughter when you do.”

He watched a flurry of emotions rush across Lance’s face. It settled on bittersweet, and he looked at Coran. “What can I do to help?”

“The ship took a lot of damage. I need some help assessing the damage and making some emergency repairs so that we can jump and move as soon as possible. That way when the lions do detect Keith, we can use the castle to jump to his location.” Coran scowled slightly. “Everyone else ran off before I could point that out, but I’ll get them to help too.”  
  
Lance looked like he was about to protest, but stopped and nodded. “Alright. Tell me what you want me to do.”

“Go get your armour on again, and meet me down by the teleduv lenses. We’ll check those first.” Lance nodded and rushed off.

Coran watched him go, and couldn’t help but frown. Lance was absolutely right, something about this whole situation stunk. This had to be a set-up of some sort, but the thought was also terrifying.

It meant that they had a traitor on board, and he didn’t want to think about that at all.

…

Kolivan stared down at the hilt of his blade, a frown marring his features as he closed the communications with Voltron.

The Blade of Marmora had lasted for centuries. He had seen the rise and fall of so many fellow Galra. It was why he stated to everyone over and over again not to let their emotions get in the way. Attachments were dangerous.

It was why he tried to deal with those who couldn’t fight their attachments in other ways. He gave them long-term missions rather than smaller ones, to try and keep them on task. Yet he himself had given into his emotions and took one of his operatives away from her post (luckily another Blade was able to take her place).

He shouldn’t have been encouraging this particular attachment, but he also knew that it was the right thing to do.

“Has something happened?”

“The Paladin that I was going to send you to has been captured by the Galra, most likely on his way to Haggar,” Kolivan explained, pulling up the file on Keith in his hand-held data pad.

“The witch? Is there anything I can do to help?”

Kolivan turned to face her. “We will be using our other operatives to help locate him, but I have little doubt that you will strike out on your own to find him anyway, so that is what I want you to do.” He held the data pad out to her.

Her eyes locked onto the picture, and instantly widened. Her breath caught in her throat. “But this is…it can’t…”

“Krolia, your mission is to locate and retrieve your son and his kit,” Kolivan said sternly.

The woman’s shocked expression turned into one of fierce determination and anger. “If that witch touches him, I’ll rip her limb from limb myself.” Krolia turned around, hair whipping behind her as she stormed out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @BamBrixBam...I told you that you were right about Haggar (just not the Kolivan part). :D 
> 
> One thing people need to keep in mind is that this story isn't necessarily about Keith or Lance becoming parents. It's about finding their roles in the greater scheme of things despite everything they were told they had to be. There are three separate 'arcs' to this. Up until chapter 10 they grow together until they become mates. From roughly there, it's the whole baby thing and now...well...there are definitely some plot points that need to be touched on, and I can tell you, a couple of them do not end well. 
> 
> Also, sometimes I play with the idea of unreliable narrators. As in, they might say or think things that might have people saying 'wait that can't be entirely true' or sometimes I contradict things later. I'm trying to experiment a little bit with writing that way. That's all. 
> 
> SO who wants to guess where I'm going with this now? Cause one person, BeTheChangeYouWantToSee, got kinda close (the Galra coming after Keith), just the separation part being for the wrong reason. Keith very much would like Lance to be there when the baby comes. He REALLY would. 
> 
> And Lance lost his family once again. Oh well.


	21. What You Need To Do

Keith’s eyes slowly blinked open, easily adjusting to the dim light of the room that he was in. He groaned when he realized that, no, it was not a dream. He was, in fact, still locked in a room on a Galra cruiser.

It took him a moment to sit up right on the bed, his hand pressed against his stomach. At least he wasn’t on a hard floor or in a dingy cell somewhere. He was in a tiny cabin made for an officer of some sort – not a commander but not a low ranking person either.

He wondered if they were still in the same position they were as yesterday. He had no idea where they were. All he knew was what he heard through the door. They were delaying their trip to Haggar. Apparently, the Galra were all very uncomfortable with giving a pregnant Bearer to her. She was an Altean witch, after all. She wasn’t bound by the instincts of the Galra that kept him safe.

It was such an odd thing, because he never expect _Galra_ of all things to act this way. Then again, he had also never seen or heard of pregnant Galra, or children for that matter. They had to exist somewhere, they weren’t grown in labs like those aliens with the anime-eyes. Being protected and kept away from the war made sense.

Keith wasn’t going to complain about the fact that they weren’t actually taking him to Haggar. The longer he was away from her, the better. Actually, best case scenario, he didn’t even get within the same solar system as her.

The down side was that the Galra were not going to take him home either. He was too valuable a prisoner. So they were stuck in this strange limbo of not knowing quite what to do. Then again, it seemed like the entire Galra Empire didn’t really know what to do without Zarkon, and with Lotor off doing whatever it was that he was doing. Hell, Keith had heard whispers through the door of them reaching out to Lotor.

He didn’t want that either.

There was a bang on the door, and a voice yelled, “Stand back and have your hands up in view.”

Keith sighed and put his hands up so that they could see he had no weapons. Honestly, what did they expect him to do? Rush them? Fight them? His blade was left behind in the castleship, and everyone was careful not to give him any weapons. Not to mention he was the size of a planet and had a hard time moving around. There was no way that he was running anymore. Maybe he could get some kind of adrenaline kick like back in the castle (for all the good it had done him), but then what? He had no idea where he was.

Keith ran on instincts, but he wasn’t _stupid_. He did analyze situations, but then he just kind of winged it through those situations with the information he had. Right now lashing out would do nothing but diminish his child’s chances of survival.

A Galra walked in with a simple plate of food and a packet of water. Keith took it from them without complaint, watching as they backed out of the room again. At least he got regular meals. He probably would have been tossed in a cell, starved, and given to Haggar already if he wasn’t pregnant. Well, they might have been a bit sympathetic to him since he was a Bearer.

A shiver rushed through Keith’s body as he remembered what Coran told him a long time ago about what Givers did to Bearers. Yeah, he knew exactly what would have happened to him in that scenario, and ending up with Haggar would have been the least of his concerns.

Keith ate the food because he knew that he needed it. Over the past few days he had been more than a bit uncomfortable. In fact, he _should_ have gone into labour already. The Galra medical officer that came in when they thought he was asleep made that very clear.

They gave him some kind of injection that stopped it, and honestly, Keith was _glad_ for that. They stopped it because it was apparently too dangerous to give birth wherever they were. He didn’t know, there were no windows in his room.

Being stuck in a bed left plenty of time for Keith’s mind to wander. Sometimes he thought that if he just gave birth to her now, he’d be able to fight or run, get them both to an escape pod and fly them away.

It was also an incredibly stupid thought because it would just lead his baby to starve to death. At least when she was inside of him, he could get nutrients for both of them. In a scan months prior, they found out that Keith wouldn’t be able to nurse the baby. Not really. Not enough to keep them alive. That meant that they needed a safe, healthy formula, which was actually in abundance in the universe and they had stalked up on it a lot in the castle, but he wasn’t in the castle.

Over all, it was safer for her to just stay where she was for a little while longer. Keith knew there was only so long that they could ward off labour though.

He brushed his hand over his stomach, longing rushing through him. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to be with his pack, his Alpha.

His heart lurched. Lance was probably blaming himself for this, was probably staying up and working himself ragged while beating himself up. He hoped that the others could try to get through to him, to let him know that it wasn’t his fault.

Keith also knew that, despite this, Lance wouldn’t stop looking for him. It was a bit selfish, because Voltron had an entire universe to take care of, but he did hope that they would all be looking for him.

“I know,” Keith muttered at the movement inside of him after he finished eating. “I know, you want to go home. You want your dad. I do too. We’ll get there.”

He struggled and got out of the bed to use the washroom that was attached to the room (likely the reason they put him in here in the first place). It was really the farthest he ever walked anymore, because why would he try to do anything else? He splashed water onto his face and sighed. He felt so _useless_ right now. A year ago, he would have fought his way out of this situation, or would have been killed trying.

Now he had to play things slowly in order to keep both himself and the baby in good health. It wouldn’t help her much if something happened to him. Not that he could provide her nutrients himself when she was born (this hadn’t bothered him before because shit happened and if that was the only thing going against him, he’d take it, but now it really, really did). He could do everything else though.

Patience yields focus indeed.

He sat down at the same moment there was a loud bang and the ship rocked. He held himself steady, mind flashing back to what happened in the castle as sirens went off around him.

Keith managed to stand up, his heart racing. Had the others found him? Who else would attack a Galra ship? Waiting made him antsy, but it was all he could do.

A while after the sirens went off, Keith froze as the door in front of him slid open. There was a Galra in normal armour there, he had seen this one around before, but the sight of the second one made his heart leap. They were wearing Marmora armour.

“Can you walk?” the Blade asked him. Though her voice was altered by the mask, it almost sounded like she was choking on her words, which was super weird.  
  
“I—yeah. What’s going on?” Keith asked, still a little stunned.

“We need to go,” the Blade told him, reaching out to him. Keith allowed them to tug him forward into the hall, the other Galra shadowing them. They must have been an undercover operative.

“How did you find me?” Keith asked, hoping that they were heading towards a hangar of some sort to get out of there. He already felt tired from walking. This was completely unfair.

“I sent encrypted codes,” the Galra in normal armour said. “Our channels can be slow at best, but it helps them be unnoticed. You are fortunate that you’re with child, Bearer. It saved your life.”

Keith kept his hand on his stomach. Not even born and his baby was already saving people.

“Have you sent a message to Kolivan?” the woman asked.  
  
“No. I will as soon as you’re out of range.”

They got into the Galra pod with ease, and it was only then that the Blade let out a breath that she had been holding. Apparently, it was sheer dumb luck that they managed to get out as easy as they had. Go figure that things would work out for once after going to complete shit.

They took off, and Keith took the opportunity to look at the space around him. His eyebrows shot up at the sight of so many ships going through a ton of different wormholes. “What the hell?”

“Galra don’t have a single home world anymore. Instead they have hubs like this that connect different systems together,” she informed him, lowering her hood to look at him. “How do you think that the Galra move from place to place so often? Do you really think that Alteans were the only ones that could develop the technology after 10,000 years?”

Keith tore his eyes away from the sheer amount of wormholes to focus on the Galra with him. He narrowed his eyes slightly. She reminded him of someone else. The first thing that came to his mind was one of Lotor’s generals, what was her name again? Axca? The one that he was pretty sure he set free in the Weblum. He wondered if they were related.

Remembering that she asked him a question, he said, “No. That’d be stupid.” Alteans definitely had the advantage with their magic though. He had yet to see a species that could use it quite like Allura could.

She nodded and then said, “Make sure your harness is on.”

Keith bit his lip, wanting to argue a little, but decided that it was probably for the best. Flight could be rough even in space, and he didn’t want to risk his child’s life when they were almost free. Once he was strapped securely into the seat, he said, “You too.”

“Hmm?”  
  
“You’re flying. It doesn’t help either of us if you get knocked out,” he pointed out. “What’s your name, anyway?”

Something like a smile passed over her features. “Krolia.”

Something about that name dug at the corner of his mind, but Keith shrugged it off. There were more important things to think about right now, like figuring out where they were so he could get back to Voltron.

The second that her harness was around her, the little ship jerked. He looked out the windows and saw that there were a couple fighters coming after them. “We’ve been made.”

Krolia hit a few buttons on the console and said, “Hang on. You see the fifth wormhole there?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s a world there that does have some Galra there, but it’s a trade world. There are many different lifeforms there and always new ones showing up. No one will notice us there until we can locate Voltron. We’re quite far away from them. It would be highly unsafe for them to come to us right now.”  
  
“We’re not going back to the base?” That had been Keith initial thought.  
  
“We were going to, but I don’t think—“

They both grimaced as another blast sent them lurching forward. Keith’s hands instinctively went to his stomach, as if that would protect his child more.

“Come on,” Krolia growled as she pushed the controls to their limit. She didn’t stop when they got through one of the wormholes, and Keith closed his eyes as he felt the ship starting to shake, loud cracking and creaking telling him that it wasn’t going to last much longer.

The first time Keith had a heat with Lance around, he had ended up crashing Red. His armour had been broken by things flying around inside of the cabin that he hadn’t sealed down properly.

They didn’t have time to seal everything on this ship either. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked around, flinching away and raising his hands to defect the debris, but was too late. Whatever it was still slammed into his head, causing pain and black dots to appear in front of his vision.

He tried to keep himself conscious as he reached up to inspect his head, pulling his hand back as pain rocked through him. He stared at his fingers, smeared with blood. That was bad. “Krolia?”

“We’re almost there!” she cried out. “Just hang on!”

“Please make sure she’s okay,” he said, head drooping a bit as his eyes fluttered. God, he wanted to stay awake. He wanted to stay awake so badly, but he couldn’t. “Please.”

“It’ll be okay! You’ll both be fine! Just trust me.”

That was a pretty dumb request, Keith lamented as his eyes closed. A second head injury in a few days could not be good for his brain. What he wouldn’t do for one of the healing pods back on the castle.

“Hang on,” Krolia cried out. “You need to trust me. You’re going to be okay. Just hang on!”

He didn’t really have much of a choice. As he lost consciousness, his last thought was that the survival of his child, his own survival, entirely rested on this strange Galra that he didn’t know.

…

Altean technology was fascinating, and Matt couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would have looked like if it had been allowed to flourish over the past 10,000 years. Perhaps it would have ended up with the society falling anyway, there was always the chance it could happen. Perhaps they would have reached out to Earth and their technology and world would be completely different.  There was really no way to know.

Despite how advanced it was, despite the magical aspect to it, the technology wasn’t perfect. The castle still needed to be manually repaired for the most part, which made things difficult, since much of the materials used didn’t exist anymore.

That was why they were on Olkarion again. They were easily the most advanced of all the coalition worlds, so it made sense to go there for such extensive repairs.

In the mean time they were doing all that they could to try and locate Keith. To at least see if there were whispers. So far there was nothing.

Matt threw himself into his sister’s findings, wanting to be helpful by figuring out what had happened to the castle when it was attacked.

“Matt,” Pidge whispered even though they were alone, “this was planned. This was done on purpose. I need you to look at this info, to see if there’s something that I missed. Something that I might not have seen because I’m biased and I’m subconsciously purposely overlooking it. This was sabotage, and there were only seven of us on the ship.”

He had to wonder if perhaps someone had put some kind of delayed virus into the system when there were other people in the castle. It was certainly possible, and the best option really, because Pidge was right, there was no way that these specific systems malfunctioned at the same time the Galra attacked them. There was simply no way. If the whole thing went down, Matt would believe in the coincidence, but not this.

He pressed his fingers to the corner of his eyes. He needed to take a small break from this before his brain exploded.

Clicking onto another file on his sister’s computer, he pulled up a folder with a slew of video files on them. They were vlogs that Pidge had made while looking for him, all addressed to him. She had said he could watch them, and they had been good entertainment so far.

He clicked on the next one, watching his sister awkwardly fix the glasses she wore. It was a good thing he actually got the prescription glass out of those, replacing it with plain glass. It had been a bit extra of him at the time, but he didn’t want his sister to know that his eyes were fixed yet!

“Hey Matt.” The Pidge on the screen was curled up in her room.  Her cheeks were pink and she looked exhausted. “So probably won’t be doing many blogs this week. Turns out I’m not a Beta like we thought! I’m just a late-presenting Omega!” She shook her head. “Keith – I realize now that you would have known Keith and I am dumb – helped me figure things out. Turns out he’s an Omega too. We’re the only ones not on suppressants here. Well, no, that’s a lie. Shiro’s not on them too, but he can’t smell for shit anymore. You always teased me about maybe being a—“

Matt stopped the video, his brow furrowing. He backed the video up just slightly. “Shiro’s not on them too, but he can’t smell for shit anymore.”

Shiro couldn’t smell. His eyes slowly turned to where Shiro was talking to one of the Olkari.

That Shiro could smell just fine.

Taking a deep breath, Matt looked back at the code that was on half of the screen. He didn’t like where his mind was taking him. He didn’t like it at all.

No, that had to be wrong. The healing pods just did their thing, and Shiro was suffering through PTSD. That was all.

For some reason, Matt felt like he was going to be sick. 

…

A groan slipped out of Keith’s lips, his eyes slowly fluttering open. It took him a moment to focus, but when he was able to, he realized that he was looking at a plain, brown ceiling.

He was really getting tired of waking up in strange places.

Shifting a bit, Keith realized that he was lying in a rather plain bed, a thin blanket thrown on top of him. He wasn’t restrained at all, nor did he feel injured. Also, there wasn’t any purple around him. That was a bonus.

Instead there were monitors and readings of things that he couldn’t understand in a language he couldn’t read. Being so far away from the castle and the lions must have been messing with the translating thing that allowed them to understand all the different aliens they met (it had something to do with the lions and was definitely too complicated for Keith to understand).

What he did recognize was the rhythmic ups and downs of two heartbeats on the monitors. One for him, and one that must have been for the baby. They were both going strong, so that was a good thing.

He huffed out a sigh of relief, hand resting on his stomach. Worry spiked through him when he couldn’t feel any movement, but that was replaced by relief a moment later when he felt a small kick. Good, she was okay. That was what mattered, not that it felt like she was putting more pressure on his pelvis.

Keith moved his limbs slowly, stretching them out and moving them to make sure that everything was intact. He felt fine. Reaching back to his head, he realized that it didn’t hurt or anything, and had to wonder exactly how long he had been there. It was clearly some type of hospital, and his baby was still inside of him, so it couldn’t have been that long.

The door opened up, and he looked over, hand twitching for a weapon that wasn’t present. He relaxed only slightly when he recognized the Galra that had saved him, Krolia. He opened his mouth, not quite sure what to say to her. Well, he supposed he should probably start with the obvious. “Thank you. You…you saved us.”

Her face twisted oddly, like what he said had physically hurt her. She moved closer and said, “I’m so glad that you’re okay.”

That was an incredibly off thing for her to say, and Keith wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. Maybe she meant because she didn’t want to go back to the Blade or Voltron empty-handed, but for some reason it sounded much more personal.

“Where are we?”

“This planet is called Heiliario. It’s a high-traffic, refugee and trading world. It’s an easy place to hide. I managed to get us to one of the…middle sized settlements? They’re used to refugees showing up in various states, and a middle sized place is perfect with little Galra activity, but big enough to not stand out in. The ship was destroyed, but I managed to hide it in a safe place. We may be able to sell parts to get a new one.”

“You’re staying?” He tried to hide the tiny bit of hope he had, because honestly, he didn’t know this woman, Krolia, but he knew her better than anyone else on this planet.

She smiled at him almost endearingly. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you again.”

That was an odd thing to say. As far as Keith knew, he had never met her before. Perhaps she just meant in general that he wasn’t going to be left alone again? Honestly, Keith didn’t even know her, but he’d be glad for a now familiar face to stay with until he could get home to his mate and his pack.

“Do I have to stay here? In this hospital?” Keith asked her. It would make sense if he did.

“No,” she answered with a shake of her head, surprising him. “The only injuries you had were to your head, and those were healed fairly easily, all things considered. You won’t go into labour for a couple more movements.” He tilted his head curiously. “What the Galra gives you strives off labour until the appropriate due-date, even if it’s only a few days away. It would probably be quite helpful on Earth, with so many Omegas that go into labour early, wouldn’t it? It would keep the child safely inside. Unfortunately, it also means that they can’t induce labour either – they’d have to…manually remove the baby. You’re safe though.”

Keith stared at her oddly. He couldn’t help it. “Helpful on Earth?” he repeated slowly, wanting to make sure that he had heard correctly.

“Of course. Many technologies out there would vastly aid Earth…though from what I’ve seen it could also lead to self-destruction as well, so perhaps it’s best humans aren’t _that_ technologically advanced yet.” She smiled at him suddenly and moved to a window, opening it for him to see out. “This place reminds me of Earth in a sense. When the leaves change colours and fall.”

Autumn, she was talking about autumn, Keith realized. He stared out the window, able to see tall trees in the distance that absolutely did remind him of when deciduous leaves turned rich reds, yellows, and oranges. Even the sky was blue, which was kind of nice.  It wasn’t the important thing though.

“How do _you_ know what Earth looks like?”

Krolia’s stared at him for a moment, perhaps not realizing what she had said. She searched his face before sighing, her expression almost sad. “I’ve been there before.”  
  
“What? When?” He had known that there was at least one Galra on Earth at one point, but what were the odds of there being two of them, both from the Blade of Marmora, both female, that had landed there before?

His mind whirred. The odds of that were _incredibly_ slim. His heartrate was starting to pick up a bit.

“It was where I met your father,” Krolia admitted as she stared at him. “It was the last place I saw you before I had to leave, leaving only my Blade behind with him for you.”

“You’re my…” Keith trailed off as the pieces snapped into place. Exhaustion hit him hard, and he felt like passing out where he laid. The shock rushed through him, and if he wasn’t sitting down already, he would have had to.

Krolia stared at him and he stared back with wide eyes. She sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. “When Kolivan told me that a Galra Paladin was with child and asked me to come, I never thought…I didn’t know. Then they took you and he showed me who you were.”

“You, you’re…” He couldn’t say it. Keith didn’t know what to say. “You’re my _mother_.”

“Yes,” she answered him. “And I’m going to keep you safe, Keith. You and your kit. I swear it.”

Keith felt lightheaded. This was all too much. As far as he was concerned, only a few hours he had been waking up and convincing himself that he had to be patient and wait for his pack. Now he was sitting in a hospital, on a strange world, in front of his _mother_. It was too much. He just wanted to go home back to the castle ship with his pack and his mate.

He slumped forward a bit, his head resting in his hands. He controlled his breathing, not wanting to pass out _again_.

When he had learned that he was part Galra, realized that it would have come from his mother’s side of the family (since the knife had belonged to her), he had assumed that she was dead. A part of him had wondered if she was alive, but it wouldn’t have mattered, because the odds of them meeting were slim in the universe.

Yet here she was. His mother. He had found his mother. Or rather, she had found him. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. Most importantly, he wanted to ask her questions. He wanted to know why she left him, why she was back now. He needed to know. He had no reason to trust her right now.

Though she had saved him and his baby.

He slowly looked back up to her and said, “Go away.”

Her face fell slightly, but she nodded her head. “They give refugees houses here. I—I don’t think you’re going to be able to leave this world prior to…” She motioned towards his stomach. “I’ll go finish dealing with that, so you have a place to go when they release you in a few varga.”

“You’re staying with me?” he asked as she approached the door.

She paused and looked back at him. “You’ll need help.”

“I needed a lot of that growing up, but I didn’t get it,” Keith snapped back, feeling a little vindictive at her flinch.

“No, and nothing I do will change that,” Krolia admitted, “but do you want to be alone now?”  
  
“…No,” Keith conceded, because he _didn’t_ want to be alone. He didn’t know what he wanted from her, and despite what Kolivan told him about how Bearers tended to isolate themselves just prior to birth, he really didn’t want to be alone.

She nodded her head. “Then I’ll give you some time alone and sort things out. I’ll be back later.” With that she walked out the door.  
  
Keith slumped back in the bed and stared at the ceiling, only looking down when he felt a sharp jab at his bladder. He grimaced a bit and looked around, wondering if there was somewhere he could use the bathroom.

He squirmed towards the edge of the bed and tried to stand up, grunting when he couldn’t do it. He took a deep breath and was about to try and push himself up again, only to yelp with surprise as the door slid open and a round figure walked into the room.

“No, no,” they said, waving their hands around. They were a rather short and round being that looked almost like they were made of plastic. They had short, little legs and arms, with a big singular eye in the middle. It was a little unsettling. “No, no. You lay. No move yet.”

“Uh…” Keith leaned back away from them, hand protectively moving across himself. Yeah, he definitely missed having something translate for him. This little alien was speaking a dialect of Galra that he sort of understood, but was only catching parts of. He tried to think of the right word to tell the alien what he was doing. “Bathroom?”

They blinked their big, round eyes before nodding. They said something, but he didn’t understand. They moved forward, holding out a hand that he slowly took. The alien helped him stand, but didn’t let go of his hand, guiding him towards what he could identify as a bathroom.

They left him alone in the room, but was waiting outside when he got out. The round alien led him back to the bed, motioning towards him.

Apparently they wanted him on bedrest. Fun.

The alien helped him get comfortable, and then asked, “You have mate?” Keith nodded his head. “Alive?” Another nod. “Do they know you’re here?” A shake of his head. “Best you stay safe until they find you. Sure they will.” They smiled warmly. “Love transcend space.”

Keith stared at the creature as they left, not quite sure what to make of it. Oddly enough, it did make him feel a little bit better.

It took a while for Krolia to come back, but when she did, he almost felt relieved. He stared at her and said, “Please tell me we can leave?”  
  
“We can,” she said, a small smile peaking on her lips. “However, you have to stay off of your feed. Bedrest until the baby comes.” Her bright purple eyes scanned his face, softening a bit. “It wouldn’t be safe for us to send a message out from this world right now. However, I am hopeful that Kolivan will be informed of what happened and of where our intended destination was. If not, I may be able to scrounge up enough GAC to acquire a ship.”

Keith breathed, trying to keep himself calm as he processed all of this. “Are we…are we safe here?”

“There are all kinds of people on Heiliario,” she said with a small shrug. “We don’t stand out at all because of that. We’re safe.” She paused. “These people asked if you were a Polluxian.”

“A what?”

“From Pollux, a small planet that few visit in the outer territory. I’m surprised they knew about it.” An uncomfortable silence fell over them. “Would you like me to help you stand?”  
  
Keith wanted to say no, but struggling to get up would ruin his pride more than accepting her help, so he nodded his head.

He moved slowly, keeping one hand on his stomach as he followed Krolia out of the room, staring at the Galran woman as she spoke to someone at a desk of some sort. It was odd how much of the stuff here was Earth-like.

His mother wasn’t as Galra as he expected her to be, making him wonder if she was full or half herself. He put that towards the bottom of the list of things he wanted to know for now.

He had lived without her for, well, all of his life. Maybe not all, but he didn’t remember her. Yet, he knew that she wasn’t going to harm him or his pup, that she’d keep them safe. He honestly didn’t want to be alone with strange aliens right now.

She motioned for him to follow her out of the door. Keith breathed in as they went outside, the cool air filling his lungs. It really was like being back on Earth in a sense.

“When I pictured meeting you again, I always thought that you’d still be little. I never imagined…I never thought you’d be an adult. That you’d be so close to having your own pup.”

He perked up a bit at the human term of endearment for a baby. He was used to Galra saying ‘kits’. She must have picked it up from his father.

He wanted to ask why she left, he really did. He wanted to cry and scream about how she had abandoned him, about how it coloured every interaction he had after that.

A dull pain rushed through him, and he groaned. He opened his eyes and looked up at Krolia as she inched closer, worry obvious on her features. “You must be very close to giving birth. They couldn’t give me an exact date inside.”  
  
“I only had a few weeks left when they took me,” he admitted. “I don’t know how close now.” Close enough that he _knew_ he was going to end up giving birth to her on this planet. Even if the others found them, it probably would have been safer at this point just to stay.

He was on a strange planet, with strange people, with his estranged mother, without his pack, without his Alpha, and days, possibly hours away from giving birth. The thought made his eyes prickle and burn, but he forced himself to keep a straight face.

They stopped in front of some kind of vehicle that kind of reminded him of a speedboat, though it was floating. Keith decided not to question it, allowing the multi-armed driver to aid him up. Once they were both sitting, the hover-boat took off.

Keith took the moment to look around and take in his surroundings. The houses were all shades of orange, so he assumed that the soil or earth here must have been primarily that hue. It was kind of nice after being stuck with so much purple.

He caught Krolia staring at him, and met her gaze head on. The two stared at one another before he asked, “The alien nurse or whatever they were, why didn’t they want me to get up? Why am I on bedrest?”

“You are _very_ close to giving birth, and you’ve been through a lot. If labour wouldn’t have been prevented, you probably would have gone through it already. It has more to do with comfort and your safety at this point.” She stared at him. “Is there only one?” She nodded at his round stomach, hand twitching a bit.

“Yeah.” If Lance was here, he would have been laughing about Keith freaking out over eight pups still.

“Good. That’s good. Hopefully that means you won’t have the same complications I had when I gave birth to you and your sister.”

Everyone froze around Keith. His eyes went wide, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. “My _what_?”

Krolia frowned, wind moving her hair in her eyes. “We’ll talk when we get inside.”

Keith frowned at her, wanting to drill her on this topic specifically, because what the hell? He understood though. He didn’t really want to have this conversation in public either.

The hover boat brought them to a little place that didn’t look like too much from the outside, and actually didn’t look like too much from the inside either, but it was a roof over his head and it was away from the Galra.

He felt a little bit better there. Especially on the really comfortable chair. He instantly loved the chair the second he sank into it.

Krolia made sure that all of the doors and windows were secure before she sat across from him, twisting her hands together as she eyed him nervously. 

“Your father never told you why I had to leave?” There was so much pain and regret in her voice that it was almost palpable.

“Dad died when I was six,” Keith blurted out. He would _not_ cry over this. “I’ve been alone ever since. Even his brother didn’t want me.” He frowned. “No one did. Not even…” Not even her.

“No!” She looked like she had eaten something sour. “Keith, no. I did want you. I did. I had to leave. You looked like your father, so Terran. Your sister though, she looked as Galra as I do. Someone found us and I had to leave to protect your sister – to protect you. It was safer for her in space. Safer for you on Earth. Not to mention Galra ships were getting closer. I had to sneak onto them to alter the information they had on Earth, to make it seem like it was a useless planet with no resources and a species too primitive to bother. I had to keep you both safe in the only ways I knew how.”

Keith couldn’t stop himself from tearing up. This was too much for him. His mother hadn’t left him by choice. Well, she had, but it was a _good_ reason and didn’t have to do with the fact that she didn’t want him. She had left to protect his sister – his twin, and to protect him and his father. He _knew_ how the Garrison had treated Shiro. He couldn’t imagine how they would have treated an actual Galra and her human-hybrid children. She also got the Galra (probably looking for the Blue Lion) off of Earth’s scent.

He wanted to ask about his sister.  He really did, but it was too much. It was too much for right now. He was going to send himself into labour if he kept freaking out like this.

He looked at the Galra in front of him, and was suddenly able to piece together why she seemed familiar. He could see bits and pieces of himself in her, things that he saw in the mirror but wouldn’t recognize on someone else without really thinking about it. Nothing about her stance or her scent was threatening.

He wanted to trust her. To give her at least a chance to prove herself. Her leaving had hurt him so much, had impacted him in ways that he couldn’t formulate into words.

In reality though, that didn’t matter. How his own mother had hurt him could wait. He could scream and have a fit at her later if he wanted to. He was about to bring his _own_ child into the world, and he needed help. Something inside of him told him that he could trust her with this.

“I suppose that we should look into getting some food,” Krolia noted. “As well as some things for the baby.”

“Formula,” he blurted out as if it was the single most important word that he knew. In reality, it probably was. “She’ll need formula. I can’t…” His face flushed with embarrassment, waiting for the judgement.

Krolia grimaced. “Ah, yes. I suppose that makes sense.” At his surprised stare, she added, “My mother was a male Bearer such as yourself, and he had a…semi-rare genetic defect that impacted that as well.” She shook her head. “Given the variety of life on this planet, I should be able to find something with relative ease for her.” She motioned towards the house. “You’ll be safe here in the meantime.”

“I was supposed to be safe on the castleship too,” he replied bitterly. His stomach growled, and though he actually didn’t want to be alone at the moment, he knew that they needed food, and he certainly couldn’t go out. God, he was going to be utterly useless here. “And we don’t have any GAC. How will we be able to get anything?”

“I have some,” Krolia assured him. “Those who come here rarely do have anything with them. We’ll sell parts from the ship, and I’ll do what I can to try and get you home.” She smiled at him. “I know it’s difficult, that’s okay, but you need to trust me.”

That was a really tall order, because what had she done to deserve his trust? Well, he supposed that she _did_ save him, and didn’t leave so far, so there was that. Now wasn’t the time for pride and distrust when he couldn’t do everything on his own.

Keith took a deep breath and nodded his head. This was borderline a nightmare, but he could work with this. It wasn’t the first time that he had been alone, and technically he wasn’t alone. His pack hadn’t purposely left him. They’d be looking for him. Lance would be looking for them. He could survive this until they found him, and if they didn’t find him, when his pup was a bit bigger and stronger, he’d look for them. If Krolia was telling the truth, she’d help him too.

Krolia left, and Keith looked down at his stomach. It was hard to believe that the baby would be here very soon, harder to believe that Lance _wouldn’t_ be there when it happened, but his _mother_ would be. Out of everything he expected to go wrong, it certainly wasn’t that.

Despite the fact that he really had no reason to trust Krolia, Keith found himself believing her that she’s try to get home.

…

Pidge stared at the screen in front of her, a sick feeling rising in her stomach that had nothing to do with heat or anything like that (she’d suffered through that a bit before they were attacked). No, it had everything to do with what her brother had found.

She was right, someone had sabotaged the castle.  Matt said he agreed with that, but wanted to double check the information because someone could have set it up on a planet when no one was on the castleship. She hadn’t even thought about a delayed virus getting into the system, and it made her feel a little bit better knowing that one of her _friends_ might not be a traitor like it originally looked like.

Whatever was going on, she didn’t like the fact that she had gotten her brother directly involved. She had just found him, and not only looking for their father, but also the surrogate brother that had been stolen from them. She didn’t want to put anyone else at risk, and it made her feel sick.

Not to mention she was _tired_. There was so much planning happening right now.

Pidge remembered the fit Lance nearly pitched when Shiro told them that they needed to keep pushing forward with their own plans on top of searching for Keith. She genuinely thought that Lance was going to throw the Beta out of an airlock or something.

“We have every available resource at our disposal looking for him,” Shiro said sternly. “Keith would want us to push forward with the mission at hand.”  
  
That was painfully true, and they all knew it. The Keith that they had come into space with so long ago wouldn’t have bat an eye at them for continuing on with what they were doing, even if he was feeling something else underneath.

The Keith they lost was different. He was just as strong in Pidge’s eyes, except there was _more_ to him. Yes, he would still want them to keep doing their jobs, but a part of him would also want them to try and find him. Even if just for the baby’s sake.

She hoped that he knew that they wouldn’t stop looking for him.

That was yet another reason for the sick feeling in her stomach. It was part of the reason why she ran back to her room to lock herself away with her computer and the robots that she was working on.

It wasn’t uncommon for Lance to be withdrawn now, lost in the insecurities that blindsided most of them when they reared their ugly heads. He went through the motions along with everyone else, but that day he had been utterly miserable.

“A week from today is Keith’s due date,” Lance muttered when Allura finally confronted him about it. “And I don’t even know if he’s alive.”

Pidge couldn’t deal with that. She couldn’t. So she ran and hid away from the rest of them. She had to put herself to good use, otherwise what was the point of her even being in space in the first place? (Family aside.)

She knew why it hurt so much to think about, because in a movement, in a week, they would be taking on a ridiculous mission that would pull all their resources from other places and push all at once, hopefully taking back a third of the Galra Empire.

She knew her parts of the plan though, and needed something else to do to settle her mind. Just because they had a big plan in motion didn’t mean that _she_ was giving up on her friend.

She was going through the security footage that they had acquired from their last intel run a couple days ago. She managed to gather information on several prison breaks, going through them painstakingly one by one, making sure that nothing was missed. Surely a Paladin of Voltron would be considered an important prisoner? Not that Keith could fight back much now.

Her eyes glazed over as she watched the videos, her the muscles in her neck and back becoming sore from bad posture. She blinked and pulled off the glasses that she wore more for aesthetic than anything else, cleaning the glass on her shirt.

Then she froze. It was like every atom in her body had stopped vibrating, and for that millisecond, she had ceased to exist.

Then she exploded. Pidge slammed her hands into the computer, typing madly and bringing up several screens from a single ship at about the same time.

That was very clearly someone from the Blade of Marmora, and that someone was very clearly guiding someone who was most definitely Keith out of some sort of living quarters, another Galra, probably undercover, standing nearby. There was absolutely no doubting that it was him, with his round abdomen and signature mullet.

“I found you,” she breathed out. Tears sprang in her eyes and she grabbed her laptop, leaping up and running faster than she ever had before.

“Lance!” she shrieked as she ran into the kitchen, knowing that Hunk would have kept him close by considering how (understandably) depressed he was that day. Sure enough, the two Alphas were sitting at the table, Hunk trying to get Lance to actually eat something.

The two jumped at her entrance. Hunk barely had the chance to splutter out her name as she threw herself at Lance, tossing his food off of the table and slamming her computer down in front of him. Without a word, she quickly started the footage again.

“Pidge, what?” Hunk demanded, looking entirely flabbergasted.

She didn’t answer, instead staying focused on Lance as he watched the video play. Lance’s eyes went wide, his mouth opening in shock. “You found him,” he breathed out in awe. He then burst out into laughter and hugged her tightly. “You found him!”

Hunk yelped and almost leapt over the table to watch the footage. “Oh man, is that a Blade?”

“Looks like it,” Pidge said with a nod. “And the date…this was over a week ago. He wasn’t with the Galra very long at all.”

“She’s still there too,” Lance said, his voice low.

“Huh?”

He pointed at one of the screens where the masked Blade, the other Galra, and Keith had stopped, no doubt listening for a patrol before moving forward. Keith was staring forward, but his hand suddenly went to his stomach and pressed against it briefly. “That’s what he does when she kicks him. She’s okay too.”

“Pidge,” Hunk whispered to her, clearly not wanting to burst Lance’s bubble. “Why hasn’t the Blade told us that they have Keith? They would have told us, right?”

Pidge’s happiness instantly vanished. That was a very good question that she hadn’t thought about in her excitement. There was no reason that the Blade of Marmora would have kept this to themselves, considering how many times Shiro had spoken to them lately, unless it was some kind of weird protective Galra instinct or something. “I don’t know, but we can’t sit on this lead. Let’s go get some answers.”

…

Allura anxiously waited for the signal to connected with the Blade. Like the others, her heart had leapt at the footage of Keith alive after he had been taken from them. Coran had nearly come to tears, and Shiro insisted that they call the Blade as soon as possible. She had leapt at the chance.

Something was burning inside of her, that instinctual distrust that rarely ever reared its head around the Blade of Marmora anymore. She _knew_ that not all Galra were evil, just as she knew that Alteans weren’t a pure, perfect people like she sometimes seemed to imply (as if the alternate universe they stumbled into didn’t prove that enough). Still, the thought of them knowing something about one of her Paladins, about her missing family member, and not telling them infuriated her.

She straightened her shoulders as the connection was made, and Kolivan’s face appeared on the screen. Before he could get out his customary greeting, she asked, “Is Keith with you?”

For once the normally stoic Galra appeared to be taken back. He stared at her for a moment before saying, “I regret to say that we have not been able to retrieve him.”

“That’s a lie!” Lance burst out from somewhere behind Allura. “We have the breakout footage!”

“Lance!” Allura snapped at him before turning her attention back to Kolivan. She tapped a few buttons on the holographic screen in front of her to show him the footage. “Are these not your Blades?” The screen was split, half showing Kolivan’s face, half showing the footage that he was now watching.

Once again, a flicker of emotion rushed across his face quickly. “Yes, it is. All of those that were undercover were informed, and told to report in should they find him. Another operative was told to search of the best leads and recover him. The undercover agent here has, unfortunately, been exterminated by the Galra. The uniformed one has been missing since the same time. If one of them tried to send a message, it did not reach us here. I will reach out to others posted nearby. I will contact you again momentarily.” The transmission was immediately cut off.

“Well that was informative,” Pidge snarked.

Something squirmed inside of Allura, and she looked towards them. “We must keep our hopes up. Keith is resourceful, and he has a very good motivator to help him survive.” She didn’t want to say it out loud, but of course Allura knew that there was a chance that something horrible had happened once they were off of the ship. “Not to mention he may have the second Blade with him still.”  
  
“Wouldn’t they have tried to contact us?” Lance asked, his voice high and anxious.

“Not if they thought it would attract the wrong kind of attention,” she said. “You know him best, Lance. What would he have done?” Shiro looked almost like he wanted to protest, but stopped.

He thought for a moment before saying, “Keith would have fought his way back while causing as many problems for the Galra as he could.” He paused. “Or, he would have. Now though…he would have put the baby first. He’d lay low until he was sure it was safe for her.”

“Exactly,” Allura said with a smile. Though she knew something could have gone horribly wrong, she would choose to remain hopeful.

She almost jumped when Kolivan appeared before them again. That had been much quicker than she expected. “Well?” She tried to keep her voice patient, but it was hard. Everyone else moved closer to the screen.

“Our agent was executed for aiding the escape of an important prisoner. We presume this is Keith. The pod left the ship, and was pursued, though did manage to get through a wormhole, though we do not know where it went. The ship was intact. It would appear that the extraction was successful. Though we have not heard from our operative since.”

“Oh my god,” Lance choked out. Allura looked over her shoulder and saw him slump down onto Hunk, who was hugging both him and Pidge close while blinking away his own tears.

“So we have no idea where he went?” Shiro demanded, taking a step forward.

“No,” Kolivan said. “However, this does help. We can narrow down to the area of the galaxy that the wormholes in that connection station went to. It will take some time, but it will narrow down the search extensively.”

“Please do,” Allura said with a nod of her head. “Once you find likely regions, please do send us a list so that we can start searching ourselves, and get the aid of the rebels as well.”

“The Galra Keith’s with,” Lance burst out, shifting in front of everyone else. “Is he safe with them? Will they help him, or just leave him?”

Kolivan was silent as he regarded Lance, before saying, “I chose her specifically because she would do anything to keep him safe, even if it went against orders. She is also familiar with part-Galra children.”

“That’s…convenient?” Hunk said, sounding rather confused.

“Really?” Allura asked, trying not to sound so flabbergasted.

“I should think so. She is his mother.” Kolivan nodded at them respectfully before ending the transmission.

There was a long silence.

“He can’t just hang up after that!” Pidge all but shrieked.

“His mother?” Hunk repeated, eyes wide.

“This is good,” Shiro interrupted before they could continue freaking out. “This is a really good thing. We know he’s alive. We know he’s away from the Galra. Keith’s a survivor on his own, but he has someone with him that will absolutely help him. This is good.”

“Shiro,” Lance looked up at him, brow furrowed, “she left him once.  Why wouldn’t she do it again?”

Silence fell over them, and the Black Paladin sighed. “Maybe, but we don’t know the entire story. We have to hope that he’ll be okay. It’s all we can do until the Blade gives us more information – and that might have to take a backseat to the plan.”

Lance looked like he was about to argue, but Allura placed a hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him and said, “We’ll get him back. We’ll get them both back.” She was willing to rip the Galra Empire to shreds with her bare hands if that was what it took.

Allura absolutely refused to lose any more family members to this war.

…

Lance’s eyes snapped open. He blinked several times and then looked around, confused about where he was at first. It took him a moment to place himself in his room.  
  
It wasn’t the room that he and Keith had moved into recently, but his room lumped with the other Paladins. They didn’t want him to be far away from them for now, which he did appreciate. They also hadn’t let him see his other rooms, knowing that they would have been a mess.

For some reason though, he had the urge to go back there. So he slung his legs over the side of the bed, shoved his feet into his lion slippers, and walked towards the suite.

It didn’t take long to get there, and he only hesitated when he was finally inside. Everything in the living room and kitchenette area looked exactly like they’d left it. He knew that the others had come through and cleaned up the mess that occurred when the castle was attacked, but it was still odd to see.

He didn’t go into the spare room, instead choosing to go into his room. He took a single step in before the scent of his missing mate hit him, and a bit of a whimper escaped his throat.

The nest that Keith had painstakingly made had fallen apart, and Pidge didn’t bother putting it back together, leaving the blankets and sheets folded neatly in a pile at the bottom of the bed, waiting for Keith to come home so he could remake it. It squeezed his heart, but at the same time, he also appreciated the fact that Pidge insisted he would be back to fix it.

Lance grabbed one of the pillows off of the bed and inhaled deeply. It smelled so much like Keith, like he had just stepped out of the room.

He was okay though. He got away from the Galra, and though they didn’t know exactly where he was, he was with his _mother_ , and the Blade was trying to track him down. Though that would be put on hold for a little bit for Shiro’s plan. That still upset Lance a bit, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He set the pillow back down and moved out of the room, heading into the last one. He breathed in sharply as he stared at the unused nursery. It was in perfect condition, just waiting for the little baby that he wouldn’t be there to greet and hold when they came into the world.

Blinking rapidly, Lance moved over towards the crib, looking at the little onesie that was placed in it. Hunk had been immeasurably happy when he found a onesie at the space mall that a Grey had apparently picked up on Earth, since it had a little planet Earth, a rocket, and the moon on the ground, all three with big, smiling faces on them.

Keith had taken one look at the onesie and had laughed so hard that Lance was worried he’d hurt himself.

_“This is the first one I want her to wear,” Keith said when they brought the onesie back to the room, holding it close to him._

_“The printing inside says it’s for three months, not newborn,” Lance pointed out. He pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. “But if you want her to wear that one, we’ll put her in it.”_

_Keith had stared at the onesie in horror, and Lance could hear him whisper, “She’s going to be tinier than this?”_

Lance hugged the onesie close to him as he came out of the memory. He couldn’t remember ever missing someone, ever being so worried about another person, this much in his life. He thought it couldn’t get worse than missing his family on Earth, but he was so terribly wrong. 

He was a horrible Alpha. He lost his family.

His eyes slowly opened, and he took a deep breath. He knew that Keith wouldn’t want him beating himself up like this. He’d probably try to be helpful, but would stumble over his words and say something vaguely insulting before backtracking and getting it right.  
  
Sometimes though he got things right on the first try.

_“_ _You’re a good mate. The best one.” He laughed. “You’re going to make an amazing father.”_

Lance stood up straight, a snarl escaping his lips. Someone had _taken_ his mate from him. Someone had taken his mate from the place that he called home, the place that he felt safe in. That was unacceptable, and so was his self-pity. Maybe he could wallow in it later, but it was doing him no good right now.

Right now, Keith and their baby needed him. They were both out there somewhere, probably hiding and trying to stay out of sight, but waiting either to be found, or for an opportunity to reach out. Keith was normally the last person to take something laying down. He’d do everything he could to get back, but not at the expense of the baby. No, like Lance told Allura, he would have gone into survival mode. Find a safe place out of the way, draw as little attention as possible to himself, gather everything that he needed to keep both himself and their pup healthy (since she would be relying entirely on him for now). If possible, send a signal for help, but it might not be possible. Bare down and wait. He wasn’t sure how Keith’s mother would factor into that, but Lance was willing to bet that his mate was calling the shots. It only made sense.

That was something to work with once the Blade narrowed things down to specific quadrants. He _refused_ point blank to believe that Keith got away only to die in a wreck of some sort. No, his family was alive. He could feel it in a way that didn’t quite make sense.

Maybe he was reaching, but whatever, that was fine.

“We’re going to find him,” Lance muttered, hand clenching into a fist so hard that it turned his knuckles white and caused him to shake.

He felt something fiery and burning surround him, and heard a deep growl of agreement. That’s right, even if everyone else gave him those pitying looks behind his back, Red would be on his side.

Fierce and strong agreement from Red.

“Hang on a little while longer,” Lance muttered. “We’ll find you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing to clarify, I keep referring to Keith as ‘mother’ for the baby and Lance as ‘father’. This not to push any kind of heteronormative agenda on my part. Instead, I looked at it as they labelled the person that physically carryings and gives birth to the child as mother, and the one that sired the child as father, regardless of gender. Generally this means Alphas = father, Omegas = mother. So the titles come from the dynamic, not the gender or sex. 
> 
> Then you have to factor in the Betas that adopt (or alpha/beta couples or beta/omega couples, etc) and they basically get to pick whatever title they want...though of course when you have the Alpha there, they're probably lean towards 'father' and an Omega would probably lean towards 'mother'. Beta's be like 'I do what I want'. 
> 
> If this was a different world or context, let’s say Keith could carry a child because he’s part Galra, but humans were the same as we are now (no dynamics or anything), things would be different. In that case, because he identifies as male and how he grew up on Earth, he and Lance would both go by father (or whatever variant of that they want).
> 
> Also if you're confused about what the hell they Galra were doing with Keith...they didn't really know either. They were just like 'well fuck if we take him to Haggar she's going to hurt him and baby but biological instincts say that's bad so what do'. That was how the message from the undercover agent was able to get to Krolia, and how she was able to find them so easily.


	22. A Tale of Two Battles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, this chapter gets a little more graphic than what I've seen other people write (not everyone obviously).
> 
> **Update**  
>  This story now has some amazing fanart now! Thank you very much!
> 
> [A Tale of Two Battles: Lance and Keith](http://genelpan.tumblr.com/post/177378867514/after-reading-this-fic-by-storiesbeyondthestars) by [Yuay](http://genelpan.tumblr.com)

Heiliario, as it turned out, had an incredibly comfortable climate that was neither hot nor cold. It did have its odd version of rain that Keith took one look at out the window, and decided that going out the jelly-like substance was not going to happen (not that he was really allowed to move around much, being on bedrest and all), but over all, it was nice.

The little place that he and his mother had been given was small but functional. It was a roof over their heads with a tiny combined kitchen and living room, as well as two bedrooms and a bathroom. It was really all that they needed.

Most people seemed to keep to themselves in this world outside of the large markets, but that made sense, considering most were refugees. He wasn’t even sure if there was a native population on this planet or not, his mother hadn’t told him that. All these aliens understood hardships, having been run from their homes and, in some cases, families. They just wanted to survive. He could appreciate that.

Keith thought that it was going to be terribly awkward with Krolia around. Somehow though, they managed to actually get along. It _was_ slightly awkward, but Keith found that if he focused on the baby things were okay.

They didn’t really talk about the past, though it was something that would need to come up. They didn’t talk about his father, about his sister that he didn’t know the name of. Instead, she seemed more focused on the here and now. It was something that _would_ have to happen at some point, but neither wanted to approach it yet.

Despite everything, Keith found that he actually was learning things about Krolia. She was hardworking, instantly setting out to earn more GAC so that they could eventually get a ship, as well as for things that they needed at the moment. Keith knew that he couldn’t work to help, but she proved to be understanding on that respect. She had carried two babies at one time, after all.

Her sense of humour when she was trying to be funny was horrible, jokes falling flat and making everything awkward for a spell. It was more her unintentional dryness that took him by surprise and made him laugh.

She was protective. She was kind. She was stern. She was helpful. She was understanding. She absolutely made it known that she regretted leaving him, that she wasn’t going to do it again.

Keith didn’t get it. He didn’t understand how he liked her so easily. He should have been angry. He should have been screaming. That was what he tended to do when confronted with things that he didn’t understand.

Somehow, he wasn’t quite sure how Krolia had done it, Keith found himself with all kinds of clothes, blankets, and reusable diapers for his baby. Not to mention his mother managed to find a form of formula to feed her with when she came. He had been so relieved that he actually cried (which was hilarious in retrospect, since she had no idea how to deal with that).

Keith was suddenly okay with how shitty the rest of his life had turned out in the past if it meant that all of the good luck needed to balance everything out hit him now.

For now, he was safe, he was comfortable, he was getting along with his mother, and he was healthy. Honestly, this wasn’t a bad place to hide out from a war, since the Galra wouldn’t want the planet ruined or destroyed either. The only thing that would make it better would be if his pack was here.

Keith’s eyes opened, drawn out of his musing by a rush of discomfort. He was safely in the nest he had made, and looked around with confusion until he stared at his stomach. He ran his hands over it. It was rock hard, and there was absolutely no movement.

He wasn’t scared about that though. He knew what was happening. The pressure and pain had been hitting him in small waves for the last little while with fairly long periods between them. It was what prompted him to have a nap while he could. 

Now was a good time to move though.

Krolia wasn’t there right now, having gone out to scavenge some things from the ship that had blown up, intending on using the metals and parts she could find for trade. Anything to get them some more GAC.

Slowly, he sat up, his instincts propelling him out of the nest and to his feet (though that took a little while). The first thing he did was circle the little house, sealing windows and doors shut so that nothing could get inside, aside from his mother.  He then moved around, gathering towels, blankets, pillows, water, and a few other things.

He still wasn’t actively thinking, just following his instincts as he shed his pants and underwear, leaving on his overly large shirt to keep himself covered (for when Krolia came back). He took a few deep breaths and then looked down when he felt liquid running down his legs.

Though he already knew that they weren’t Braxon Hicks contractions, the fact that his water broke only proved that his baby was about to come into the world.

…

Lance wasn’t the type of person to actively think about dying. Yeah, it would happen someday, but that day was so far away that it didn’t really matter. He was like any other teenager and young adult in that respect: he thought he was invincible.  
  
Being thrust into the front lines of an intergalactic war against an Empire that had existed for over 10, 000 years had changed this. The fact that he was with Voltron for a very short period of time before he had been blown up and essentially knocked into a coma was a pretty big reminder that nothing cared how young he was.

He wasn’t a depressed person, but he had to wonder how he would die. His insecurities led him to worrying that he was going to end up old and alone, lost in the memories of his friends that he couldn’t save. That was honestly the worst thing he could think of. At least if he was cut down in battle, or captured and tortured, he’d be trying to help others or perhaps taking their place.

He could deal with dying for others knowing that they were safe. He honestly could. He couldn’t handle the fact though that they were _all_ going to die when Naxzela exploded. Voltron was strong, but he doubted they’d survive an explosion that would cover at least ten _solar systems_.

 He hoped, he prayed with everything that he had, that Keith wasn’t anywhere close to them. He was silently begging the universe to keep them as far away as possible right now. At least then he’s be safe. The baby would be safe.

Maybe Lance would be able to watch over them after he died. He wasn’t sure how that worked, but that’d be nice.

Lance wondered if Keith would hear about what happened to them. Or maybe the Galra would hide what happened and Keith would forever wonder where they were and why he couldn’t find them. His family on Earth would never know either, but maybe Keith’s mother could get him back there eventually. He could raise their daughter there.

Their daughter. He wondered what she would be like. If she’d look like him, or like Keith. If she’d love the ocean or want to curl up in front of fires. Would she be open about her problems, or would she try to hide them behind a brave face?

Would she know that he loved her, or think that he abandoned her and her mother?

Lance squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t. He wanted to find Keith and their daughter, to be there when she took her first steps and to argue with his mate over what her first words were going to be.

Silently he urged Red to go faster, as if the lion had anything to do with their speed. He was the fastest of the bunch though, so maybe he could help somehow.

They had to get out of this. They just had to.

…

Kolivan had once told Keith that Bearers often moved on instinct when it came time for their children to be born. That they’d isolate themselves from everyone else. No doctor, no type of birthing partner, and certainly not their mate. Krolia had confirmed that childbirth was considered equal to that of a battle, albeit, a very private one that no one else was privy to. It was only in emergencies that someone else was called.

Keith was still mostly human though, and humans _did_ want doctors (or some sort of birthing coach) and their Alphas around. He was okay with no being at a hospital and having strange doctors poke at him, but he desperately wanted Lance with him. He wanted the rest of his pack too. They weren’t there though, and if Keith was one thing, it was adaptable. He’d get through this as best as he could.

Oddly enough, or maybe not so oddly given his situation, he wanted his mother. He wanted her there with him more than anything else he could have right now. She was the one that Kolivan was going to send to help him through this in the first place, so she would have been there even if they were back on the castle ship. He desperately wanted her by his side now, and hoped that she’d be back soon.

A quick glance at the clock told him that she should be. That was a relief.

Keith couldn’t help but smile a bit. If Lance was there he probably would have been freaking out like he had both times the Omega suffered through Braxton Hicks contractions, at least at first. As his contractions became more intense, Keith could also picture Lance becoming calmer, doing anything he could to help. Eventually, the Omega’s composure would have shattered with the pain, and that was when his Alpha would have become an encouraging rock to hold onto.

As it was, Keith was alone on a strange, alien planet. He should have been freaking out, but he remained calm because he _had_ to. The contractions hurt like hell, but he gritted his teeth and groaned through them. He didn’t have the option to freak out now though.

“Keith?”

He looked up quickly as the front door opened and closed, sealing itself shut tightly again. Relief rushed through him as Krolia took one look at him and quickly set aside the things that she was carrying. She approached him carefully and asked, “How close is the pain?”  
  
“Close,” he croaked out, brushing a bit of sweaty hair away from his forehead. His mother was here now; things would be okay.

“Did your water break?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Okay, so we’re just waiting it out.” She nodded her head to her own words. “I’m going to get that scrap metal away and start sterilizing some things. If you need to sit, sit. If you need to stretch, stretch. Do whatever makes you comfortable.” She paused and eyed him for a moment. “I can check to see how far along you are after. I admit, I did some reading on human childbirth when I was on Earth.”

“Is it the same?” Keith wondered, breathing in and out steadily.

“Basically the same, except Galra births are rather short in comparison. You Omegas are beyond remarkable with what you need to go through.”

He barked out a laugh and then kept moving around. He watched as she cleaned and started disinfecting everything in sight, going a little bit overboard. It occurred to him that she must have been worried too. He was her _son_ and he was having his own baby, her grandchild.  
  
If she had expected to meet him again as a child, this must have been really shocking for her.

It took a while, and he certainly knew why it was compared to battle now. No, if a Galra birth was comparable to a battle, a human one must seem like a war. He kept reminded himself over and over again that he had to breathe, that he could pass out and hurt the baby if he didn’t.

“Here.” Krolia handed him a cup with small pieces of ice. At his curious glance, she said, “Your father did this for me. He explained that it was the safest thing for Omegas to have during the birthing process.” That’s right, it would have only been his father around her. It wasn’t like he could take her to a hospital on Earth.

He picked up a couple pieces and chewed on them, the coldness giving him a little bit of relief from the heat that he didn’t even realize he was experiencing from the pain and strain on his body.

He imagined Hunk assuring him that he could have all the food he wanted later. Pidge would try to be clinical and technical, but would no doubt freak out and not want to be anywhere near him until after the baby was born. That would have been fine.

He didn’t second guess his decisions. He didn’t think about if he could be a parent. The only thing he thought about was bringing this baby into the world safely. He could almost hear Coran and Allura telling him to keep his spirits up, and being excited for him.

He wandered around until he had to stop, knowing it was time to push. Lance would have been at his side, helping him in any way that he could.  
  
Having closed his eyes at one point, he opened them when Krolia took his hands into hers. Her brow was furrowed as she said, “We should check how far along you are.”  
  
Keith didn’t even care how awkward it might be to have his mother check his progression. She was his birthing coach, nurse, and doctor all in one, so he’d do whatever she said at the moment, as long as his baby came out healthy.

He was glad that she was there, but he really wished that everyone else, especially Lance, was too.

…

Nothing was working. The shields weren’t coming down, and Voltron wasn’t fast enough to get to Haggar’s ship in time to stop the explosion. It was sheer dumb luck that any rebel ships were left at all, Matt’s being the soul survivor of the entire fleet.

They were all pushing Voltron as hard as they could, but that didn’t stop them from being able to talk.

“I never got to find my dad,” Pidge muttered, her voice soft, yet hysterical. Lance’s heart gripped painfully in his chest. She was definitely crying. “He might even be on one of these planets.”

“Shay is on one of these planets,” Hunk said sadly. “The last time I saw her I had to rush off really quickly. I didn’t get to say goodbye properly, or give her the present I made her.”

Lance felt his breath catch in his throat as he muttered, “I’m not going to get to hold my baby.” Pidge whimpered and Hunk sobbed at that.

“We’re not dying!” Allura broke in, her voice loud in contrast to all of their soft ones. “We’re not! Pidge, we’ll find your father. Hunk, you’ll be able to give Shay her present. Lance, you will get to hold your baby. We _cannot_ let Zarkon and his _witch_ win!”

“Allura’s right,” Shiro added. “Put _everything_ you have into your lion! Sam, Shay, Keith…they’re all still out there and we can still save ourselves and all of them!”  
  
Lance’s grip on the controls tightened and he closed his eyes. He wanted to see Keith again. He wanted to meet his daughter.

To do that they had to live.

…

Keith cursed the fact that he had to be born intersex. It had never once bothered him, not even after finding out that he was a _very_ fertile Omega. Pushing a baby out of him though? That made him curse his biology quite loudly.

It seemed to amuse Krolia a little bit, much to his ire.

“You know, your sister was born with the similar physiology as you,” she noted. “However, she is a Giver, or an Alpha, I suppose.”  
  
“Of course she is,” Keith replied with a groan. He gripped the back of the chair in front of him for a moment before looking at his mother. “I think I need to push.”

Krolia took a deep breath of her own and nodded her head. “Move into the position most comfortable to you. If you’d like to lay, you can. I found that using gravity instead of fighting against it helped.”  
  
“What did the books you read say?”  
  
“That crouching was one of the easiest ways to proceed.” She squared him with a stern look. “I won’t let you fall, and I will not let harm come to your child.”

“I trust you,” he gasped out, because despite everything, he did. He trusted her. “I trust you, Mom.”

Krolia had an odd sound, but he didn’t pay much attention to it as she helped him maneuver himself to make things easier.

It didn’t take him long to wish Lance was there with him again. It didn’t matter how embarrassing fluids and blood gathering under him was. It would have made this a whole lot easier than just him and Krolia.

Well, actually, he probably just would have been able to freak out as much as a part of him wanted to. He couldn’t freak out though. He couldn’t.

This was a horrible idea. He was _never_ going to do this again.

“Keith, you need to breathe,” his mother ordered him. “I know it hurts, I know it’s hard, but you _need_ to breathe. You don’t want to pass out.”

He nodded, feeling some tears escaping his eyes. God he wanted Lance with him so much. He had been so excited about the baby, and he wasn’t even going to be here when she came into the world.

“Keith,” Krolia said sternly. “In and out. You need to keep breathing.”

He forced himself to take a deep breath.

He nodded his head but muttered, “Sorry, there were no space-lamaze classes.” Fucking shit, he just wanted this baby out of him.

When the next contraction hit him, he pushed, and ended up crying out from pain. His mother spoke to him with soothing words, but nothing really reached his ears.

 The process repeated over and over again, which seemed really unfair to him because weren’t pups supposed to come almost as soon as the doctor said to start pushing? That’s most definitely not what was happening. TV had _lied_ to him. Assholes.

Keith took a few deep breaths, once again waiting for a contraction. When it hit, he bared down, and pushed. It was the pressure more than anything that was getting to him.

“I feel her head,” Krolia said encouragingly. “I’ve got her. You’re doing great, Keith. Just a little more.”

…

“Oh my god!” Matt’s voice rang out over the comms loudly.

“The bomb has deactivated!” Coran called out at the same time.

Relief hit Lance so hard that he actually did end up crying. He couldn’t stop the tears from falling. From the sounds of it, Pidge and Hunk were right there with him.  
  
“What happened?” Shiro demanded to know, sounding just as relieved as the rest of them.

“You’ll never believe this,” Matt choked out, sounding almost hysterical. “It was Lotor. Lotor saved us all.”

As if proving his point, a new person tapped into their frequency.

“Paladins of Voltron,” Lotor’s smooth voice called out to them, “I believe it’s time for us to talk.”

Lance scowled a little bit, but honestly, he didn’t _truly_ care what Lotor wanted right now. They were alive. All the people in the solar systems were alive. They had defeated the Galra and managed to liberate a third of the Galra Empire.  
  
Despite all of that, the only thing he wanted was his mate back in his arms.

“We did it, Keith,” he muttered so quietly that he doubted anyone else could hear him. “We did it, and now I’m not going to stop until I find you. I promise.”

…

Keith could do this. He took another deep breath and pushed again. His throat was raw from the scream that escaped him, one that was overpowered by the loud, distressed cry of a newborn pup taking her first real breaths.

Relief rushed through him. Crying meant that she could breathe.

His knees shook, and he almost fell into the pile of blood, fluids, and waste below him. Krolia steadied him and helped him up. The next thing Keith knew, his screaming child was placed into his arms.

Her face was scrunched up angrily, her dark skin red with both stress and blood, not to mention she was covered in other fluids, and the umbilical cord was still attached. She had a thin layer of wet, raven black hair, and her eyes were squeezed shut in a vicious scowl, clearly unhappy with her entrance into the world. Honestly, she was kind of ugly.

Yet, Keith thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. One look, one moment of feeling her weight in his arms instead of inside of him, and he was gone. He would fight the universe for this little person without hesitation. God could suck it; he’d absolutely win for her.

He took several deep breaths, feeling a pressure building up in his abdomen again. All he wanted to do was cuddle her, but there was still more that he had to do first.

“Mom?” Keith muttered, looking up as the woman approached. He watched as she gently cut and clamped the cord.

“Your father did this for you and Axca,” she said quietly, reaching to grab a soft towel. Her purple eyes met his. “Let me take her to wash and scan her. You still have a placenta to pass. Then you can have her back.”

Keith didn’t want to let her go, but knew that he had to. He gently placed her into his mother, her grandmother’s, arms and moved to finish this.

It was a disgusting, bloody mess that luckily came and went much quicker than his baby had. He folded towels over the mess, the sight of it making him queasy. His lower body and ached and burned with strain, both inside and out (actually, his entire body was screaming), but when Keith turned his attention back to the screaming child, none of it mattered.

His little girl was so tiny as it was, but she seemed absolutely miniscule in comparison to Krolia. The Galra was so gentle as she cleaned the baby, and he couldn’t help but smile at that. She was safe for now, so he should probably get himself cleaned a bit.

He was a complete mess. Keith grimaced a bit as he cleaned off his legs with a towel and water, avoiding actually touching himself. He moved around the room, grabbing a pair of lined boxer-briefs so they’d be loose on him and wouldn’t brush against his aching lower body, but would still stop the regular bit of blood that he’d been warned about from getting everywhere.

Krolia approached him, holding the pup in her arms as if she were the single most precious thing in the world before handing her to him. Honestly, to Keith, she was. He soothed the still whining newborn, touching every inch of her, looking for any potential injuries or obvious problems.

“I scanned her,” Krolia said, her voice soft and eyes affectionate. “There were no warnings on any biological or genetic problems.”

All of the scans that he had done at the castle indicated that she was very healthy, and despite his mixed genetics, he seemed to have a normal pregnancy like any other human Omega. Given everything that happened though, he was more than a little relieved to hear that everything was fine. A smile passed over Keith’s features. “I knew you were going to be perfect.”

“Go lay down,” Krolia said, gently pressing her hand against his sore back. “Sit with her and hold her. I’ll clean up.” She eyed him. “I’ll also be scanning you later as well.”

Keith nodded his head, not feeling any fight in him. He was just so happy and content.

He felt the baby move against him, and knew what she wanted. He sighed a bit sadly, knowing that he personally wasn’t built to give her what she was looking for.

When doctors were assigning an intersex child with their gender as an infant (because, yes, clearly they _had_ to), they tended to look at things with a checklist of sorts. Enough checks in one list, and you were assigned the designation of male, enough in another, you were female, enough right in the middle, they decided you were non-binary (more often than not forcing the parents to just ‘pick one’). It was extremely common for people to pick what they wanted to be later on in life, but they were forced into categories at first.

One of the designations for ‘male’ was underdeveloped mammary glands, so male Omegas were stuck with the stereotype that they couldn’t feed their children when they were born, so they were seen as less than their female counterparts. It was stupid, since the vast majority could provide as much as the female Omegas could. Just like with most things involving Omegas, information was skewed against them. Keith just _happened_ to be one of the ones that struggled with it (apparently due to a defect from his Galra side). He didn’t even feel the tell-tale discomfort in his breast tissue that he knew most pregnant Omegas did. It was kind of a blessing in _that_ regard, but it was most a bad thing since he couldn’t feed his daughter himself.  
  
That was okay though, because they had worked out a solution. Bless technology. On Earth, people probably would have shamed him for not trying to get certain medicines, or certain procedures so that he could feed the baby naturally, but people needed to mind their own business. Keith had a perfectly healthy, perfectly beautiful pup. What did it matter if he had to use formula? She was going to be the most wonderful, healthy, kickass person no matter what she ate.

“I think she’s hungry,” he muttered.

“I’ll get the formula. Go rest.”

Bless his mother. He wasn’t sure he could have done this alone. Well, no, he would have done it alone if he had to, but he was glad that he didn’t.

Keith moved into his nest, and his body felt almost blissful now that he could actually sit and relax a bit. Krolia brought in a tiny bottle and paused for only a moment before leaving the room, giving them time to bond.

He almost cried at the little sound she made as she drank from the bottle. Keith took the time to observe her, taking in every little movement, every breath, every beat of her heart.

That’s when it hit him hard. He had a daughter. Of course he had known, he had felt her growing, kicking, and putting up a fuss inside of him for months, but this was still surreal. She was actually in his arms.

This small, little human (well, mostly human) had been created by a combination of his and Lance’s genetics, had grown inside of him, and now she was in his arms. She was so small, fragile, and frail, and she was his goddamn everything. He’d fight the rest of the universe to keep her safe and happy.

He let his tears fall as he breathed in the scent of his child, nuzzling himself against her gently as he let her smell him. She made a small sound, hands opening and closing. He felt himself choking up a bit when he met her light blue eyes. There was no telling if they would end up like his or Lance’s, but a part of him hoped that they’d darken to Lance’s colour rather than his own. He’d love her to have his mate’s eyes. With her brown skin and her black hair, she was like a perfect combination of him an Lance.

Once she was fed and gently burped, he settled back in the bed, once again letting some tears fall as he ran his fingers over her incredibly tiny fingers and toes. Her little nails were so small, but they were sharp already. If he was back on the ship he would have the tiny baby gloves he had sobbed over in a fit of hormones, but he didn’t right now. He’d just have to be vigilant to make sure she didn’t cut herself.

There’d be time to put a diaper and clothes on her later, but for now, he just wanted to hold her. He had known that she was going to be small, but she was just _so_ tiny and defenseless.

Maybe he had a lot to learn about being a parent, but Keith suddenly found himself unafraid of the fear that had plagued his mind since he found out he was an Omega and not a Beta

Once, the thought of a child had terrified him, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret bringing his pup into the world. His Alpha _loved_ him, and he loved the baby when she was inside of him. Keith knew that Lance would have given anything to be with them right now, cooing over their precious child. The thought made him preen a bit.

It was true, for a long time he told himself that he didn’t want a child. He told himself he didn’t want to be relegated as some sort of breeding mare or homemaker. He wasn’t that though. He was a Paladin of Voltron, he was just taking a step back for a while to be with his little girl, and it was what he _wanted_ to do. She wasn’t at all planned, but it didn’t matter anymore. He not only had to do this now, but he _wanted_ to. That had really been the root of everything with him, always feeling like he was forced to be something instead of being allowed to choose.

“Your da…Papá. Right. He wants to be called Papá, cause that’s what he calls his dad. Your Papá is going to love you,” Keith muttered to her, his lips ghosting over her soft hair. He rubbed her back gently. “He’s going to be putty in your hands.” He yawned loudly.

He gently rested her against the crook of his neck, running his cheek over her to scent her while she took in his scent. Lance would have done the same to both of them if he were there. He felt her relax against him. She definitely was more mobile that he had ever seen human babies be after being born (he had seen a few in foster care). That was probably her Galra genetics shining through, and he was okay with that. He’d have to ask his mother about that later.

“He’s going to find us, I know he will,” Keith said to her. “It might not be for a while, but I’ll make sure you know all about him. Until then, your grandmother and I are here with you” She yawned broadly, her entire body shaking in the process, causing him to chuckle. “Alright. I get it.” He shifted again, getting comfortable while keeping her against his chest.  
  
Krolia found them like that a little while later. A smile crossed her features, and needed to wipe away the tears that built in her eyes. For every single thing that she had missed in Keith’s life, she was glad that she got to be here for this.

…

_“We’re sitting on the floor,” Lance said, unable to keep his dry tone away. “That’s your version of a date?”_  
__  
Keith’s cheeks turned red and he tugged at his sleeve. “Just sit down.”  
  
“You didn’t even bring food, or a blanket!”

_“Lance!”_

_He pouted and sat down beside him, slumping down onto Keith dramatically. Head resting on his shoulder, Lance looked up at him and fluttered his eyes. “Well I guess there are no distractions here, right?”_

_Keith snorted, arm going around his shoulders. “Sure.” He looked away, almost embarrassed. “I always liked the stars. I liked looking at them and making up my own constellations rather than just sticking with the ones that dead, white dudes found.” His cheeks turned red. “So I thought we could do that and I just…maybe I should have brought food or a blanket, I don’t know. I’ve never…I’m not…”_

_“Keith, have you ever gone out with someone before me?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow. He himself had flirted a lot, had gotten a kiss or two, had maybe coped a feel, but he had gone on quite a few dates._

_Keith ducked down slightly. “No. I—I never…everything that…I’ve flirted with people, that’s not big deal but I—you’re the first one I ever…well…done anything with.”_

_Lance was blown away. He had thought that Keith at least kissed someone before. So many people at the Garrison had admired him._

_Jesus Christ, the first time that Keith had any kind of sex was with him when he was in a rut. Lance had been as careful as he could with him, but ruts were rough and aggressive and he had been out of his mind for part of it. He had listened to Keith at the time, but he knew that the Omega could take pain better than anyone else he had ever met._

_He calmed himself down. They had made their choices, and when they decided that they were ready and had protection, he would shower Keith with as much love and affection as he could._

_He broke out of his thoughts, nuzzling his face into Keith’s neck. “So, you wanna star-gaze and cuddle with me? Name our own constellations?” When he thought about it that way, it actually was kind of sweet._

_At first, he expected Keith to respond shyly, but the Omega paused and seemed to gain more courage. He backed away so that they were looking at one another again and arched an eyebrow at Lance, a sly smirk spreading across his lips. “Well, it can get cold up here, and there’s a reason I didn’t bring a blanket.” He leaned forward so that their faces were close to one another. “Of course if you don’t want to…”_

_Oh hell, since when was Keith able to flirt? It should be illegal to look that alluring and attractive._

_“No.” Lance pressed a kiss against his neck. “I just want to be with you.”_

Lance stared out at the stars, holding his legs close to his chest as he remembered what now seemed like a simpler time. A time when he had been the Blue Paladin and Keith was Red. A time when they shyly began dating one another. A time before they were mates, before their baby had been conceived.

Lance wouldn’t change any of that. Hell, he wouldn’t even change Shiro disappearing if it would have stopped the rest from happening. The only thing he _would_ change was having his family here with him rather than out there somewhere in the unknown.

He heard a door slide open behind him, footsteps echoing on the floor. With so few people in the castle, most rooms seemed to do that, a constant reminder that this ship was built for many more people.  
  
He would have taken only two more. He wasn’t that greedy.

“There you are,” Allura’s soft voice reached him. He glanced up at her as she stopped beside him. “You left during the meeting.”

“Yeah, sorry,” he replied, looking back out the window. “Didn’t feel like listening to Lotor.” He still didn’t really care about that, but still felt obligated to ask, “What’s happening with that?”

“He will be staying in a special cell in the castle. Shiro and Hunk already escorted him there. That was he’s safe from Zarkon, but we’re safe from him. He has to prove himself to us first.”  
  
“Hmm,” he hummed, showing that he heard her. Lance still didn’t particularly care about Lotor.

Allura shifted, kneeling down beside him so that they were on a more even level. “I’m sure that the Blade will find something for us to work with soon. This is a major victory, and the Galra Empire will be far too busy with that to worry about a prisoner that escaped. We _will_ find Keith.” She spoke so confidently that Lance wanted to believe her.

That wasn’t really the only thing bugging him right now though. “Today was his due date.”

“His…” Her brow furrowed, eyes narrowing, before they went wide. “Oh! Oh, Lance. I’m sorry.” She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes they’re delayed, are they not?”  
  
“Yeah, but that’s not always a good thing.” He looked down. “I dunno… I guess I just…I _really_ think that she was born today. I don’t know why, it’s just a gut feeling. Like I know she’s out there now, breathing on her own. It’s weird and crazy, I know. But it won’t go away.

She stared at him thoughtfully. “That feeling…could possibly be real. Keith used to be connected to Red, and you are now. Though sometimes Paladins move on to other lions – my father piloted the Black Lion after Zarkon died the first time – the connections always still remain in part. You are the Red Paladin, but there will always be a connection to Keith, just as you will always have a connection to Blue. Red’s bond with Keith wouldn’t be enough to find him like he used to do, but perhaps these bonds are giving you that feeling. It’s just a theory, of course, but for all I know of quintessence, there may be greater things that connect us in different ways as well that we don’t even know about.”  
  
A small smile appeared on Lance’s face. “I’d like that. It’s a nice thought. It reminds me of what my Mamá used to say to me. He always said that sometimes we can’t see things with our eyes, but we can feel them with our hearts. Though I think he stole that quote from somewhere else.” He paused, fingers tapping against the armour on his leg. “I hope they’re safe and healthy, and that Keith’s mother stayed with them to help.” He looked down sadly. “If they were here, I’d know what her name is.”

“You don’t know?” Allura asked him.

“We talked about a bunch of names, but the only thing I know is that her surname is going to be Díaz-Kogane. The names we went through were Rina, Ana, Naomi, Amaya, Carina, Mari, Akari, and Alicia. Also a few of my family members’ names for middle names were thrown out there but we didn’t really want that. We wanted her to have a unique name that was a mix of both our cultures from Earth. Or that’s what we started with at least. We agreed that Keith was going to pick two of those names, I just don’t know which ones.”

Allura smiled. “All those names are lovely, Lance. I’m sure whatever Keith chose, it suits her. He does have sharp instincts.”  
  
“Yeah.” Lance’s smile actually felt painful. “Allura…I thought that I was going to die today. That we all were. I thought…well…you heard.” His fingers twisted together and he looked at her. “What if I never do get to hold her? What if something went wrong?” He closed his eyes, feeling tears prickling at the edges of them.

Allura breathed in sharply, and then Lance felt her arms around him. “We will find them, Lance,” she said, her voice both fierce and watery. “I swear it to you. We _will_ find them. We won’t stop looking until we do.”

He let himself lean on her and nodded his head. They would get his family back.

They had to.

…

Keith blinked his eyes open, staring up at the above him with confusion. He shifted a bit, a dull, hot pain rushing over his body, specifically his lower regions. His eyes closed briefly, arm moving up and making contact with his stomach.

His eyes snapped open and panic immediately rushed through him. He had been holding his baby when he fell asleep. Did he drop her? Did he roll over and crush her? Was it all a dream and she had been stillborn?

He was almost hysterical when he shifted and saw the very tiny baby on her back, spread out peacefully on a part that had been added to the side of the bed like a little cradle. It was flat and more sturdy than the bed, away from the blankets, but still in arm’s reach.

A groan of pain escaped his lips as he pushed himself up properly, leaning over to pick her up, his heart still beating wildly. Only when she was in his arms and he could see the steady rise and fall of her chest, feel her tiny breaths against his skin, did the panic wane away.

A bit of shuffling caught his attention, prompting him to look up. Krolia hovered in the entrance, a plate of food in her hands along with another small bottle. He blinked a few times before asking, “Where…?” He motioned towards where the baby had been sleeping.

“I added that when I checked on you. Human infants are so fragile, so I understand why pups need to be away from a lot of soft things so they don’t smother themselves, but I never understood why places want to take them away from their mothers.” She shook her head.

Keith thought about what he knew of Bearers, and realized that he probably would have fought a doctor or nurse who wanted to take his pup away. Most Omegas weren’t comfortable with it as it was, but adding that Galra part to him wouldn’t have ended well on Earth.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Krolia nodded her head and handed him the bottle. Keith shifted a bit, brushing the bottle gently against the baby’s lips. She instantly latched onto it, greedily drinking the formula down.

“She looks like you when you were born,” Krolia noted, staring at the baby with a smile on her face.

“Really?” Keith looked up at her before looking back down. “She seems to be able to…move easier than human babies.”  
  
“Yes, you were like that too. Though you were also smaller.” She smiled wistfully. “Actually, you were smaller than your sister, she was a little older than you, and you looked so different at first glance – you with your peach skin and her with blue – which scared your father endlessly since blue on human babies isn’t a good thing. Your faces, noises, and other features like that were very similar though.”

Keith kept his eyes focused on his child as he slowly asked, “What happened to her? My sister.” He knew what he had heard while he was in labour.

He could _hear_ the hesitation in her voice as she said, “That’s a long story.”

“You said her name was Axca. She’s one of Lotor’s generals.” He made eye contact with her. “Dad died, leaving me alone on Earth with no one else, but what happened to her?”

“You need to understand that while they try, the Blade has problems as well. Rules that I’ve always had a hard time following. It’s why, more often than not, I’m put on long-term missions. Kolivan says I’m too emotionally compromised.” She shook her head. “Axca was more like me, but I think she saw things differently. She thought that the Blade wasn’t really doing enough to help the people that were suffering. I was sent on a long-term mission, and she was furious with me for leaving for so long. When I returned, I was told that she was sent on a mission with some of the younger Blades. They fell behind and were left behind. Kolivan was there with her, and wouldn’t let her go back for them. They were all killed. She resented him, resented the Blade, resented me. She was gone before I got back.”  
  
Keith thought back to Lotor’s generals, how they all fought so well with one another like a team, seemingly having one another’s backs. In a sense, it reminded him a lot of the Paladins. That would make sense for someone who valued the lives of her team members. “If she was against the Empire, why fight for it?”

“From what I hear, Lotor is something completely different from Zarkon. He pictures a completely different Empire that’s very different from his father’s. It doesn’t surprise me at all that it drew her in. If he gave her a family of some sort, something I failed to do, that would have only made her all the more loyal.”

Keith blinked. He could absolutely understand that. Shiro had reached out to him when no one else would, and he clung to his pseudo-brother. If Axca had been alone and Lotor did the same with her, it only made sense for her to react in a similar way. He would fight for any of the Paladins, just as she would fight for any of the Generals.

It all made terrible, horrible sense, and almost made him laugh. Instead, he just leaned the baby against his shoulder to rub her back so that she would burp. It really might not have mattered all that much if his mother had been in his life after all.

The baby burped, and he brought her back down to let her drink the rest of the bottle. This was something that Lance had explained to him before. “I don’t want that life for her. I don’t want my life for her either.”

“Then do neither,” Krolia said sternly, startling him a bit. “Do something entirely different. My mistakes and actions may have impacted you, but they are not yours.” She pressed her lips together, brow furrowing. “We will find your mate. Your pack. You will have an entire family of people around you to help you.” She looked down. “And if you want it, I will be there to help as well.”  
  
“What about the Blade?”

“If you want me there, I will tell Kolivan to shove his blade up…you know.” A small smile twitched on her lips. “If you’re safe and happy, I could run some missions for them, but I leave that to you.”

He stared at her before looking down as the baby finished drinking. He wasn’t sure if he needed to burp her a second time, but figured it couldn’t hurt. It gave him time to think about exactly what he wanted to say.

Krolia really wasn’t going to leave if he wanted her to stay, to the point where she’d make herself useless to stay with him. Actions spoke louder than words to Keith, they always had. Her actions so far showed remorse and the desire to be a part of his life.

“Her name’s Karina,” he said suddenly.

She blinked. “Karina?”

Keith rubbed his daughter’s back softly, a smile appearing on his face. “Yeah. Lance and I had a bunch of names, and we decided that I’d get to pick the final name. Karina was his favourite though.” He chuckled. “He liked some of the other ones, but this one he had all kinds of reasons to like it. He said it means beloved one or something like that, and it’s after a constellation you can see from Earth – we used to stargaze a lot in the castle.” He moved the baby down so that he could see her face again. “I think I’m going to spell it with a K instead of a C like he showed me. I think it kind of changes the Earth-origin of it, but that’s okay. We all know what we were going for.”

“Why’s that?” Krolia asked, her lips twitching into a small smile.

He shrugged, not meeting her gaze. “Both of our names start with K.”

Krolia laughed happily. “They do. Karina is a beautiful name. And on Earth you use…last names as well? Is hers’ Kogane?”

“No. Yes. Uh…where Lance is from they usually use names from both parents. Well, lots of people do that now.” Keith looked down. “And she had a middle name too. So it’s Karina Akari Díaz-Kogane.” He couldn’t help but be amused at himself. “What nationality is she? Who even knows? Got some Cuban, Japanese, European, and alien in there. Born on Heiliario.” It shouldn’t have been so amusing, but it still really was.

Krolia stared at him for a moment before smiling as he yawned. “You’re still tired. You should rest.”

“I slept,” Keith pointed out. “And Galra sleep less that people anyway. I sleep less than people.”

“ _You_ also just gave birth.” She tentatively reached up, brushing her hand through his hair. Keith’s eyes closed briefly, finding that the gesture made him feel warm. “Though you should eat first. Maybe have a shower.”

He glanced over at the plate of food that had been left forgotten on the dresser. “I’m not really hungry.” He placed his hand on his swollen stomach. It was crazy to know that his baby had been living in him for nine months, and now she was resting peacefully on his chest instead. It didn’t feel as hard as before, and was a little bit smaller. “I wish we had healing pods. Everything still hurts down there.” Having a shower sounded really nice though.

“Hmm. Let me scan you to make sure that everything’s okay. Then we’ll get at least a little bit of food in you, okay?” She left without waiting for a response.

Keith watched her go, and looked back down at Karina. He ran a finger gently along the black fuzz on the top of her head. “You know, you’re so cute that you actually make me want to punch something else. What is that?” That was certainly one way to start. “So, uh, I guess I’m your mom?” That was a little bit better.

He reached up and took her little hand into his, smiling as her fingers curled around his. “You really will love your Papá and he’s going to love you to pieces. Uncle Hunk is going to make you all kinds of amazing things, Aunt Pidge is going to teach you so much, Aunt Allura is going to spoil you rotten, Uncle Coran…” Keith trailed off as he remembered the events that led to his capture. “I need him to know that none of his way his fault. That I don’t blame him. He probably feels bad.” He brought her hand up, brushing it against his lips. “Uncle Shiro...he’ll love you too when he’s feeling better. Oh, Uncle Matt will teach you all kinds of inappropriate jokes. Don’t listen to him.”

Keith took a deep breath. “For now I guess you’re stuck with just me. Sorry. I—I’m going to try and do my best. Well, I guess your grandmother will be here for us too. I’m going to protect you, okay? Like, I will fight everything for you. If Lotor comes through that door right now, I’m going to kick his ass.” He shifted a bit and groaned in pain.

That sound seemed to prompt Krolia to come into the room. Keith realized that she probably heard him talking and chose to give him privacy. He shifted Karina up a little higher and said, “Scan away.”

She held the device over his lower body, tapping a few buttons on the screen. “Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong that’s a cause for alarm.”

“A cause for alarm?” Keith repeated. That meant that something was there, just not serious. As far as he was concerned though, anything in that area was important to him.

She spoke almost clinically as she said, “It looks like there was a slight bit of tearing, so you’ll probably notice some bleeding and pain. Not enough to need stitching though. You don’t have to worry about nursing, so you can take some painkillers that you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Galra are usually quick healers.”

That left him feeling a little nauseated, knowing that there was a bit of tearing down in his goddamn vagina where things should _not_ be ripping or tearing. “Oh god. I don’t think I can eat anything.”

“Try to eat a little bit.”

Keith didn’t think he could do that yet. He really would like to get a shower though. He shifted Karina in his arms and looked at his mother. “Do you want to hold her? I’d like to clean myself up more.”

Krolia’s face positively lit up. “I’d love to!”

Keith almost felt a little hollow when his baby’s weight vanished from his arms. He watched her little eyes open slightly, looking up at her grandmother.

“Go get a shower, and take your time.” Krolia smiled at him. “If you need anything, just call.”  
  
He nodded his head and moved into the bathroom, taking a deep breath. The first thing he did was look at the mirror, and physically recoiled at it. He looked _horrible_.

_“Come on, Babe. You just gave birth to our child. It’s okay if you look like you got hit by a space-bus.”_ Keith could almost hear Lance saying that to him, no doubt trying to get him into the shower to clean himself up. Lance wasn’t there though.

He got the water going, and tossed his messy clothes aside. It was only when he stepped into the water that Keith let himself break. Tears streaked down his cheeks and his entire body shook. Everything hurt so much, and there was really nothing he could do about it aside from take some pain killers. That was bearable though. He hated the fact that the rest of his family wasn’t with him.

He had been a loner for so long. That was why Keith kept insisted over and over to himself that he’d be fine on his own. Apparently he was wrong, because it hurt so much. His only saving grace was that his mother was there too.

Not only that, but he was already feeling a little anxious. Karina was fine. She was right in the other room. He still hated that she wasn’t right there with him. Was this normal? He didn’t know.

Instead of fighting it, Keith let himself cry. He let himself cry for himself, for Lance, for Karina, for his mother, for his father, hell, even for Axca.

Eventually he calmed down enough to actually wash himself off, though moving his fingers too close to the apex of his thighs to get blood off was a terribly excruciating idea. People should probably talk about things like that more in health classes rather than how Omegas should let Alphas bone them whenever they want.

Keith wrapped a towel around himself when he was done. Yes, his mother had seen him give birth hours earlier, but that didn’t mean he was comfortable just walking around in front of her naked.

He came back into the room to grab his clothes, silent relief rushing through him when he saw that Krolia was sitting in a chair, still holding Karina.

“My goodness,” Krolia said, her voice higher than normal. “You’re beautiful, aren’t you? You look so much like your mother, though I suppose you must have gotten your brown skin from your father.”

Keith smiled as he got his clothes and back into the bathroom to get dressed in privacy, though he left the door open so she could hear him. “She did. I kind of hope she gets his eyes too.” He came back out a moment later. Though his stomach wasn’t much smaller and everything ached like crazy, he found that he could push through those moments easier to move around to get dressed. Maybe it was just because he wasn’t worried about falling over and hurting Karina anymore.

“I thought the same for you, you know,” Krolia noted. Instead of handing Keith back his baby, she motioned towards the food. He sighed and grabbed the plate, sitting in his nest to pick at it. He still wasn’t that hungry, but he’d try to eat to keep up his energy. She silently watched him eat several bites for a moment before saying, “I will crush anyone who tries to harm either of you.”

Keith almost choked on his food, having to spit it back onto the plate. He laughed loudly, his hand going to his abdomen. “Ow, don’t make me laugh. Holy shit. Ow. I don’t think I can eat any more.”

“Are you alright?”

He chuckled and looked at her, wiping away the tears that welled up from laughter. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just wasn’t expecting that.” He took a few more bites of the food.

“Well, it’s true.” She looked back down at Karina. “Nothing will harm you while I’m here.”

“I believe you.” And he genuinely did.

Once Krolia deemed that he had eaten enough for now, she handed him back Karina. Warmth rushed through him as he held his daughter close, leaning back in his nest again. Krolia took the half-eaten plate of food away, leaving the two of them alone again.

“I’m going to teach you everything,” Keith told her. “How to read, write, walk, talk. Everything.” His brow furrowed. “Whether you turn out to be a Beta or an Omega, your Papá and I are going to teach you to defend yourself. You’re going to be amazing in whatever way you want to be, and you’re going to be absolutely kickass.” He gently nuzzled his forehead against hers. “I’m never going to abandon you. Never. And you’re going to know that everyone around you loves you and if they don’t they’re wrong.”

She yawned widely, and Keith knew that, as much as he wanted to keep cradling her, they both needed sleep. He gently situated her in the bedside cradle before making himself comfortable in his nest so that he’d be able to see her when he woke out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole thing about ‘checklists’ and ‘assigning genders’ is definitely Keith being a bit critical of the whole thing because you can’t tell me that some old, white (Alpha) political fuckers wouldn’t insist on that. 
> 
> Also the whole formula/breastfeeding thing was purposely done so that a. Keith can’t just run off because shit he needs to feed the baby, b. showing how judgemental this society can be due to ‘checklists’ and bs like that, and c. it’s absolutely a commentary on how women who really aren’t comfortable with it, or who can’t breastfeed, are almost demonized. It’s stupid. 
> 
> Fun Fact 1: Texas Kogane looked at Keith and Axca and said 'Well, they're babies' and Krolia decided that Keith fit male and Axca fit female based on Galra kits (how is that? Congrats you've reached the part of my world-building where I just shrug and say nod your head). I mentioned very early on that Keith's dad told him that if he wanted to be 'Keitha' instead, that was fine, but Keith was happy as is. On that note, I'm surprised more people don't use that name for cisswap stories, since it's totally a real name. I know a Keitha. 
> 
> Fun Fact 2: In the original version of this (planned before Krolia was introduced), Keith was entirely alone when Karina was born.
> 
> Fun Fact 3: I was originally looking as astronomy names and came across Carina. I then decided to try and find a Cuban first name instead (with a Japanese middle name since Keith is part Japanese), but Carina stuck with me. The reason it starts with a K now was literally to keep the Ks going through their family.


	23. Time In Motion

Allura stared up at the glass prison before her, meeting the intense indigo ones before her. She should be moving, should be following Shiro out of the room to message Pidge and Matt about Lotor’s newest information. After all, they had been searching so long and hard for their father, and now they might have an answer as to where he was.

She couldn’t though. Her feet wouldn’t budge. There was another person that was missing, someone else that they needed to find. Lance had pleaded with her to ask Lotor if he knew anything, but none of them wanted to divulge the fact that Keith escaped the Galra to him if he was untrustworthy. It was a precaution in case he escaped.

The thing was, Lotor was proving to be honest. She was still wary, but Allura had the feeling that she had to take this chance. She had to ask.

“Is there something else you need, Princess?” Lotor asked her, his hands behind his back.

Shiro paused a few feet away and looked back at them.

“There is one other thing that you may be able to help us with,” she said slowly. Allura was still unsure, but nothing was ever accomplished without taking a chance.  
  
“Allura,” Shiro said warningly.

She glanced at him over her should before turning her attention back to Lotor. Shiro may be the Black Paladin, but this was _her_ castle, and she would not be silenced in it. “Before we liberated a third of the Galaxy from the Galra Empire there was a…devastating attack on the castle.” God, how had they been caught that off guard by a computer malfunction? It still didn’t make sense to her. “Our defenses have been greatly improved since. However, one of our own was taken from us. From what we know, Haggar wanted him.”

Lotor stared at her for a moment, before saying, “The witch is cruel, and if your friend has been held captive for so long…” He trailed off, clearly not wanting to give her bad news.  
  
It was clear though that Lotor held no love for Haggar. It was just as well.

“He wasn’t,” Allura explained. “The Galra didn’t take him to them. She’s Altean. They would not give an expecting Bearer to her.”  
  
She eyed Lotor for a reaction, and there definitely was one compared to before. He titled his head, brow following just slightly as he regarded her. Allura heard Shiro walk closer to her again, but she ignored him, keeping all of her attention on the imprisoned Galra.

“The one with child is Galra?” He looked up at the ceiling briefly. “No. Half or less. All the paladins appear to be of the same species.” He waved a hand. “No matter, that makes sense. No Galra in their right mind would give an expectant Bearer to someone like the witch.” There was the bite in his tone again. If Haggar had some kind of designs for Keith, the odds of Lotor being in on it were slim to none.

Allura still had to try though. “He was rescued, escaped. This was prior to your troubles with Zarkon.”  
  
“You want to know if I’ve heard anything of him?” It was stated more as a fact than a question.

“Yes.”

Lotor shifted slightly, bowing his head. “I did know that the witch was interested in the pregnant Paladin. Many high ranking Galra were. They saw it as an opportunity. I did not, however, know there was a plot to take him. I apologize, Princess. I knew something of his current whereabouts, I would absolutely aid you.”  
  
She sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. “Thank you for being candid.”

Allura turned and nodded at Shiro. The two started walking away when Lotor called out, “He was the Black Paladin, wasn’t he?”  
  
Allura and Shiro both looked around to stare at him.

Lotor nodded towards Shiro. “This is not the Paladin that I faced before.”

“Yes,” Shiro answered. “He was.” He nodded for Allura to follow him.

As they did, Allura looked over her shoulder, watching as Lotor sat down again. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

She just prayed that she hadn’t made a grave mistake.

…

Pidge had known for quite a while that ending Zarkon would not end the reign of the Galra. There were still so many worlds to liberate, so much left to do. Sure, maybe it would have made sense to put Lotor in power, but they _couldn’t_ do that with so little planning. It was just too dangerous.

Pidge and Matt made themselves clear why they couldn’t go home with their father, but it still hurt a bit. She missed her mom. She missed Bae Bae. Her dad was safe though. Matt was fighting with her. Her family was okay.

Well, not all her family. If the Galra warring with one another wasn’t reason enough to keep fighting, that surely was.

“You know what’s impressive?” her father spoke up, gathering a few things together for his departure the next day.  
  
“What’s that?” Matt asked.

“How much your friend trains. Lance? He’s very intense.”  
  
For a brief moment, Pidge wanted to laugh. She could remember Lance laying on the floor of the training deck, complaining about being tired, and Keith kicking his armoured side for him to get back up. When he was the Black Paladin, he had drilled them endlessly to work on their weaknesses (largely hand-to-hand combat for most of them). It had been brutal, and not even Lance was spared.

_“Oh come on! I’m your mate. Go easy on me.”_

_“Turning on the Gladiator in three…two…one!”_

_“Wha—ow! Keith! Does this count as spousal abuse?”_

The thought of Lance training intensely on his own was amusing at first, but then Pidge thought about it more, and it just made her sad. Her shoulders hunched, and she said, “He wasn’t always like that. He used to complain as much as the rest of us.” Pauses. “He used to be more open.”

Matt sighed sadly beside her.

Sam looked from one child to the next and asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

Pidge looked up at Matt, unsure if it was their place to tell their father. He shrugged in response, and she said, “Keith.”

“Kogane,” Matt added. “You knew him at the Garrison. A couple years younger than me? Piloting prodigy?”

“Shiro’s recruit?” Sam asked thoughtfully. “He’s here too?”

Matt shrugged and waved his arms in a circle. “Somewhere.”

“The Galra attacked us and took him.” Pidge bit her lip for a moment, her mind instantly going over everything she could have done differently that day. It was something they had all discussed at length, if only to help one another. “He’s an Omega, like me. He realized before I did that I was going into heat and he helped me. I was terrified about being an Omega, I thought I was a Beta, but he helped so much. He showed me that I could be what I wanted, I didn’t have to fit a certain role. It gave me the confidence to say that kids aren’t my thing. Sorry dad.”

Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “If that’s what you want, Katie…Pidge. You won’t hear anything different from me or your mother.” He squeezed her shoulder gently, thankfully getting them back on track since she really didn’t want to talk about that right now. “Lance is an Alpha. I take it he was fond of Keith?”

“They were mates,” Matt explained.

Sam’s eyes went wide. “Oh. That makes sense. I’m sorry. I didn’t hear anything about another human prisoner.” He looked so genuinely remorseful that Pidge almost didn’t want to tell him the rest.

“That’s not all,” her brother said, deciding for her that they were going to tell him everything. “Keith was pregnant. Really pregnant.”

Their father looked positively horrified by this revelation. He had been held by the Galra, and he was an Alpha himself. His mind was probably going through a hundred horrible scenarios at once. “And Lance _isn’t_ taking that lion of his and ripping apart every Galra prison?”

“That’s the thing,” Pidge said. “I found footage from the ship he was on. Some of our allies managed to break him out. Unfortunately, they got attacked and we don’t know where they ended up. We’re running with the assumption that he’s okay.” She paused. “One of the Galra that got him out was his mother.” That was still mind-blowing and a relief in so many ways.

“His mother?”

“Yeah, Keith’s part Galra,” Matt said with a wave of his hand. “It was a shock to me too, but explains a lot in retrospect.”

“We’re waiting for the Blade to see if they can find out more specific information so we can start searching,” Pidge explained.

Sam closed his eyes and nodded his head. “I hope you do. There is nothing worse than knowing your pup – no matter how old they may be – could be in danger. Think about your mother, and how she's feeling with all of us gone.” He reached out and pulled them close. “However, sometimes you have to let them go and make their own choices.” She knew for a fact that the last remark wasn’t about Keith. “I know you two. You’re both so brilliant and determined. Between that, Lance’s instincts and dedication, Hunk’s desire to see you all safe and happy, and Shiro’s leadership, I’m sure you’ll find your friend and his pup safe and sound.”

Pidge closed her eyes, letting her tears fall. “I hope so. I really, really hope so.”

…

Hunk almost bounced in the chair in his Paladin armour, waiting for the video camera to fire up. He was in the same room that they had designated to film their vlogs. He was there to make another video, but this one was going to be even more personal.

This was for his family.

He cleared his throat when a light flashed red before turning green, meaning that it was recording. 

“Malō Tinā! Malō Tamā!” He smiled brightly at the camera. “I—this is probably a big surprise to for you.” His smile faded, brow furrowing. “I bet the Garrison told you that I’m dead, didn’t they?” He couldn’t keep his eyes on the camera. “I’m sorry if they did. I’m sorry if I made you upset or sad, or if I disappointed you. I just…well…I’m in space! I pilot this giant, yellow lion that has amazing mechanics, but is also sentient and made of magic. I’m not here alone either. Lance is here too. Yes, that Lance. And there are other people here with us too, Pidge, Shiro, and Keith.  Our lions can become one giant robot called Voltron and we’re almost like…space-police, I guess?”

He didn’t want to worry his family. He didn’t want to tell them about their life or death situations, and was trying to think of ways to soften the blows.

“There’s…there’s a war happening up here. A really bad one and we don’t want it to get to Earth. Things are looking up though! We’re winning, so hopefully we’ll be able to come home soon. Man, do I miss Earth good. Space food is…different. Some’s really good. Some’s really bad.” He perked up a bit. “Oh! We live in this giant castleship, that’s where I am right now, and it belongs to Allura. She’s a princess, but her planet was destroyed 10,000 years ago and the only person she has left is Coran, her advisor. We woke them up from cryosleep. It’s really sad actually. They’re really nice.”

Hunk paused, his eyes widening. “Wow, I got off topic. Anyway, apparently Allura and Coran are horrified by the sheer amount of things humans can and will eat. It’s hilarious. Oh! I also showed Allura some yoga. She loves it!”

He thought for a moment, wondering what else he should tell them. He always had so much to tell his parents, but now that he had the opportunity, he didn’t quite know what to say. “Um, well, we ended up making out own little pack up here. It’s great! Believe it or not, _I’m_ the Pack Leader! It’s…I dunno what I was expecting, but it might be different since we all live so close to one another anyway, but it’s not what I thought. Taking care of everyone just makes sense, you know?” He frowned. “Some bad things happen up here too, and I don’t want to worry you but…I kind of wish you were here? Sometimes I feel like I can’t be a good Pack Leader, because I don’t really know how to help or protect everyone.” He took a shuddering breath. “Something happened and…well… I can’t have kids anymore.” He looked down again. “I’m sorry if that disappoints you. I really am.” Hunk looked back at the camera. “It was worth it though. I saved Lance, and he has a baby now, so it was worth it.”

He stopped, because that wasn’t exactly true, was it? His shoulders slumped. “I can’t complain though. One of our friends that I mentioned, Keith, was kidnapped by the bad guys. His mom rescued him – he’s part alien but grew up on Earth and thought he was entirely human. We don’t know where they are now and we’re trying to find them. The thing is, he’s Lance’s mate, and he was taken before he could have their baby. So, yeah, Lance has a baby, but none of us have met her yet. It’s…it really makes me feel like a shitty Pack Leader, you know?”

He cleared his throat again and looked down. There has to be something he could say to make things better. His cheeks turned pink and he looked up again. “I also, kind of, sort of have a crush on an alien girl named Shay?” He clapped his hands together. “She’s amazing! I hope that I can introduce you to her someday. It—it could be serious maybe, but there’s so much going on right now, so we’ll see. Um, oh! There’s a ton of insane alien tech up here, and I get to see all of it! It’s really cool, but sometimes really scary, but yeah cool. I’m okay, and hopefully I’ll get to see you soon.”

He glanced at the ticker in the room and said, “I could keep going on and on, but I need to give this room to Lance for a little while. We made other vlogs too, so I’m going to put mine in too for you! I miss you all so much and I’m sorry I’m not there to see everyone! I love you! Ou te alofa ia te oe.”

…

Lance shifted nervously back and forth. When they had first shot their vlogs, he had latched onto the idea and had gushed about all of the amazing aliens he had met, ending with the fact that he had the best boyfriend in the universe.

He wasn’t going to send that one now.

He took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face as the light turned green. “Hola Papá, Mamá. Um, it’s Lance. Of course you know it’s Lance, you can see me. I hope at least. Surprise, I’m alive!” He waved his hands in the air dramatically, but his bravado quickly vanished, his shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry for whatever the Garrison told you. I bet it was bad. Probably that we died in an accident or something. I don’t know. Whatever it was, it wasn’t true. I just…I want you to know that I didn’t mean to vanish. I swear. I mean, who ends up purposely involved with an intergalactic space-war that’s been going on for 10, 000 years?”

He straightened his shoulders, wanting to tell them some of the good things, because their time in space hadn’t been all bad. Not by a long shot. “I—it’s kind of been amazing up here. You know I’ve always loved space and the stars and now I get to explore them! We’ve got to see so many awesome planets, and there are so many different kinds of aliens. We’re living on a castleship with two Alteans – they basically look human, and they’re both amazing. Allura and Coran. Um…Hunk’s here too. So is Pidge, I think I mentioned her too – though I probably called her a him at the time, but that’s another story. Takashi Shirogane is with us too. And then there’s—”

Something dark welled up inside of Lance as he stopped talking. He stared at the camera and found himself blinking rapidly, wiggling his leg. “I miss you all so much.” His voice wavered and cracked. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for all of you. I miss home, I miss all of you so much.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing himself again. “The thing is, this is important, and no one else can do it. We can’t let the Galra get to Earth. The Galra are the bad guys. Well, no, not all of them, but the Galra Empire is bad. Maybe when it’s a bit safer we’ll visit. I really want to.” He trailed off, brow furrowing. “Not until I find Keith though.”

A genuine smile spread across his lips. “Keith’s amazing. I know I mentioned him to you before. The one from the Garrison? He came up into space too and, well, long story short we started as rivals and, surprise, he’s now my mate.” He narrowed his eyes. “So suck it Clara, Theo. I got the best Omega.” His smile immediately fell. “Too bad you were right, and I am a shitty Alpha. He was taken from us, and we don’t know where he is.” He looked up at the camera, his hands shaking, his eyes watering, and his voice wavering. “I won’t be coming back until I find him. I won’t stop. I miss you, and I’ll be back as soon as I can be. I promise. Te quiero.”

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stood up, muttering, “I said I wouldn’t cry…”

…

Meetings with leaders of the coalition were a common thing. So common that Hunk tended to zone out a little bit more during them. He sometimes wondered what it would be like if Lotor joined them, but it was decided that they would _not_ introduce him to the heads of the coalition, just in case. Sure, he had done a lot of good things for them, including, you know, killing Zarkon for good this time, but they all had the right to be weary around him.  
  
It would still probably make for an amusing meeting.

So when Kolivan’s screen stayed open when everyone else’s vanished, Hunk instantly perked up a little bit. Blade reports came in every second or third meeting, but they had just gotten one recently.

“I have news,” Kolivan said simply.

Lance’s head shot up, his blue eyes wide with so much hope that it was almost coming off of him in waves. Hunk prayed that this news was what they were all secretly hoping for. He didn’t know how many more times his friend could take disappointment. It was like more and more, pieces of Lance were chipped away, replaced with someone more serious and stern.

“We have narrowed down the sectors that Keith and Krolia would have ended up in. There are four, and there are many planets in both, but that was no doubt on purpose. It would have been harder to track them to a specific one. It would actually be best to check worlds with a high amount of transient life. They’d be less likely to stick out. That, unfortunately, does not help much.” He looked towards Pidge. “I have sent over the information to you. Be wary, since some of these sectors are in the territories where much warring is happening.”

“I got it!” Pidge said, and Lance practically stumbled over to her, his entire body shaking.

Kolivan nodded. “Good luck.” With that, his screen closed.

Pidge tapped into the castle’s computer and projected the holographic map up so the entire group could see it. The four sectors were quite large, and spread out fairly far, but in comparison to what they were dealing with before, it was almost minimalistic.

“With all the fighting that’s happening, this is going to be dangerous, isn’t it?” Hunk asked, unable to hide his worry.

“I don’t care!” Lance snapped, eyes glaring at him fiercely. “I’ll go and look through every single one myself!”

Hunk held his hands up. “Easy. I’m helping too. Just stating the obvious.”

“Hunk’s right,” Allura agreed with a nod of her head. “Of course we’re going to look for Keith, but we need to plan this carefully. If the Galra realize we’re searching for something, they could possibly figure out what and try to find him first.”  
  
“Haggar, at the very least, knows that Keith was taken and never got to her. If she finds out we’re looking around in specific places, she might try to beat us to him, like Lotor’s ex-generals did with my dad,” Pidge noted.

Lance reluctantly nodded his head at that. Shiro narrowed his eyes at the map and slowly said, “There is something else to consider.” They all looked towards him. “He may be better off where he is.”

There was a long, heavy silence, before Lance spluttered, “What?”

Shiro looked towards him. “I doubt they’d be in an unsafe place with a newborn pup. It may be better to leave them where they are.”

Allura’s eyes narrowed. “You’re saying we abandon them?” She wasn’t quite able to mask her accusatory tone.

“No!” Shiro’s face was surprised before he pulled himself together. “Of course not! We just need to consider that he might be safer where he is than with us. Look at what happened here. I suppose we could set up communications—”

“And when someone hacks that and finds him?” Pidge asked him.

“Your coding is better than that—“

“It’s happened before.”

“You know what I meant. Besides, even if someone did find them, Keith is anything but helpless, and he has his mother with him. If she’s anything like the other Blades, he’ll be fine.”

“So if he can fight, if his mother can help protect him, why not bring them both back here when they can be with _us_? It’d be the same thing!” Lance exclaimed and then looked at Allura quickly. “Uh, if that’s okay.”

“Absolutely,” Allura agreed with a nod. “Keith’s mother is welcome to stay as long as she’d like.”

“See! He’d be fine here,” Lance said, looking towards Shiro.

The Black Paladin glared at him. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s best for everyone, Lance. The Empire is in shambles right now and everyone is fighting each other.” He paused. “If we took Lotor to the Kral Zera—”

“You’re not thinking about everyone!” Lance yelled, a growl tinting his tone. “Just Lotor!”

“I am this team’s leader!” Shiro yelled right back. “I’m trying to win this war! You’re being selfish, Lance.”

“And you’re acting like you could care less that someone you called your younger brother is alone out there! And don’t give me the crap about Krolia! You _know_ what I’m talking about!”

“Your judgement is biased.”

“Of course it is! Keith’s my mate!”

“There’s no room for that type of bias here, Lance. It’s not your place to make decisions for this team. One person does not out-weight a single planet; let alone how many need our help. Helping Lotor is the best way to stop this fighting and make it safer for people like Keith!”

“And we decided we didn’t have time to plan a mission that dangerous with so many enemies around,” Allura interrupted, keeping her voice low and calm.

Hunk stepped closer to Lance, placing a hand on his slumped shoulder. He found himself bristling a little, because what right did Shiro have to say something like that to him?

Lance suddenly straightened up again and said, “Keith _never_ stopped looking for you. You can stay here and be buddy-buddy with Lotor. I’m going to find him.” He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Pidge looked up at Hunk, who looked towards Allura and Coran. No one said a thing, but they were all thinking the same time. They were going to do everything they could to find and bring Keith home.

It was what family did.

…

Lance never understood why Keith trained as much as he did, why he genuinely seemed to enjoy it. He had thought that his mate was a little on the loony side when he claimed that it was a great way to relieve stress and frustrations.

_“I have to find outlets for my anger,” Keith explained in a matter-of-fact way. “You know how bad my temper can get. So if I burn my energy on other things, I’m less likely to freak out at someone who doesn’t deserve it.”_

It was also a good way to distract yourself when you were alone, when everyone else seemed to have plans and things to do that you just didn’t fit into.

In retrospect, Lance felt horrible about that. They had called Keith the loner so many times before he started opening up to them more. Was this what he felt? The desire to just keep moving or that loneliness and desperation would catch up and make him explode?

The thought made Lance sad and frustrated.

He understood all too well the appeal of the training deck now.

Armour on and small, floating droids circling around him, Lance rolled out of the way, his blaster shifting to a sniper-rifle. He was able to get a few of them, but his concentration was off, and the blasts kept coming at him.

He hated this. He hated feeling this week and useless. Maybe if he had been stronger, smarter, Shiro would actually listen to him. He never would have put Keith down that way when he was the Red Paladin.

Though Shiro certainly did rip into him when he was the Black Paladin, didn’t he? Not in quite the same, harsh way as he did with Lance, but enough to get Keith frustrated (he had been slowly getting comfortable with his role as a leader, but Shiro’s return and subsequent attitude, not to mention the fact that he had been pregnant, made all that vanish).

There was something wrong. Lance didn’t know what, but he knew there was. He doubted anyone would listen to him though. Why would they? He was selfish, needy, and weak.

He wanted to be stronger, he _needed_ to be stronger for everyone else.

His bayard shifted under his hand, and he could hear Red whispering to him. He moved on instinct, allowing his lion to guide him. He swung around, the long, sharp blade his bayard had become slicing through the droid.

He moved quickly, cutting through the others. Only when the bots were all in pieces on the ground did he stop and actually realize what he had done.

His hands held on to the bayard in his hands, staring at it in awe. It had changed into a sword that was very different from any that he had seen before. He looked it up and down. “Woah.”

“I haven’t seen that for 10, 000 years.”

He looked over his shoulder at Allura, who was walking towards him, her eyes locked onto the bayard. “What?”

“It’s a Altean broadsword,” she explained, leaning in close to look at it. A bittersweet smile appeared on her face, and she added, “My father used to use one just like it.”

Lance looked towards the sword again, brow furrowing. Alfor had been the Red Paladin, so it was highly likely that this was the exact same sword he had used before. Somehow, that made it feel heavier in his hands. “I have no idea how I did this.”

“I think your bayard is showing you what we’ve all been noticing.” Allura smiled at him warmly. “You have greatness within.”

Lance snorted out loud. He didn’t mean to be so rude, but he couldn’t help it. “I don’t think Shiro noticed.” How could he have greatness in him when he had lost and couldn’t find his own mate and pup? It was more likely that his bayard was giving him something to ram through himself.

Oh wow, that was _dark_. Lance immediately took that thought back.

“Shiro has been quite difficult lately,” Allura admitted, a rather distressed expression appearing on her face. “I’m not sure what to do about it, to be honest. We _constantly_ seem to be at odds.”

“You guys are always under pressure,” Lance said slowly, though he wasn’t quite sure _why_ he was defending Shiro. “Having Lotor around doesn’t help.”

Allura parted her lips to say something else, but then pressed them together firmly. She crossed her arms in front of her, looking away as she muttered, “Sometimes it feels like it was easier to fight the Galra than to try and work with them.”

He didn’t really know what to say to that. He could kind of understand though. Everything had been so easy with Zarkon around, oddly enough. They knew exactly who the big bad was. Now they were in this odd limbo state where no one was their enemy, yet at the same time, everyone was.

“You both have the coalition’s best interests at heart,” he said, wanting to comfort her. That was at least one thing he could surely do.

“Yes,” Allura agreed after a moment. “That is true.” She looked up at him. “Thank you, Lance. Speaking with you is helpful. I wish there was more I could do to help you.”

It had been another long day of searching random sectors of the galaxy to try and pick up Keith on their sensors. So far no one had any luck, and that led to Lance and Shiro butting heads again. Hence why he came to the training deck in the first place.

“You _are_ helping,” Lance assured her, before looking back at his sword. “I just need to be stronger.”

“Well,” there was suddenly a bit of a playful tone to her voice. “If you _want_ to impress Keith with your swordsman abilities…” It seemed like she was helping him fix his grip, but ended up disarming him and flipping him to the floor, “…you have to work on your stance.”

“Ow,” Lance muttered and looked up at him, watching the bayard vanish in her hand.

“If it’s any consolation, your sword is much better than Keith’s. I’ve never quite understood how he uses it.” She shrugged. “I imagine he’d be twice as lethal with a sword that has a proper hilt like this one or his Marmora blade.”

Lance chuckled a bit. He actually knew that Keith _hated_ the form his bayard took, but for some reason, he had never been able to alter it the way Lance could. He looked at the Altean sword again. This had once been Alfor’s, and Keith could probably wield it without any issue. Those were some metaphorically big shoes to fill.

He was going to do it though. He was going to train as hard as he could.

He never wanted to let anyone else down again.

…

“Shiro! Can you take Lance, please!” Pidge yelled, her voice filled to the brim with annoyance. Shiro glanced towards the other Paladins, and caught Lance looking over his shoulder at him.

He looked like he’d rather be _anywhere_ else rather than with him at that moment. Still, he followed Shiro obediently out of the room, going into the hall to be away from the others while they worked and tried to get the life support systems back on.

“It’s okay, Shiro,” Lance said dejectedly, leaning his forehead against the wall. “I’m an adult, and I can be quiet. You don’t have to babysit me.”

Shiro’s eyes roamed over him. Yes, Lance was an adult. Sometimes Shiro saw them as kids since they were younger than him, but that was far from the truth, wasn’t it? Pidge may still have the word ‘teen’ tacked onto her name, but she was the only one, and even on Earth, she was a legal adult. Hunk was their Pack Leader. Lance and Keith were mates and had a child.

No, none of them were children anymore.

“Lance,” he spoke up almost hesitantly. Did he even have a right to question the Red Paladin? “Let me ask you something.” Lance looked over his shoulder slightly. “Do you remember on Olkarion, how you asked me about talking to you from inside Voltron?”

Lance turned all the way to face him, confusion splayed across his features. “Yeah?”

“What happened there?” Shiro asked. “I can’t remember any of it.” He had been thinking about it more and more lately, and it truly bothered him. He didn’t recall anything at all.

“We were all in some kind of mystical Voltron mind-space and you were yelling something, but I couldn’t hear you. Are you okay?”

Shiro almost laughed. He had been to the Astral Plain before, and that sort of sounded like that. The thing was, he didn’t remember any of that. All he remembered was using the Black Bayard and then blacking out himself briefly. Was he okay? No. He definitely was not.

“I don’t know,” he settled on. “My head—I’m just—feeling so confused.” His shoulders slumped slightly. “It’s like…”

“What?” Lance prompted. It was amazing how he still seemed to genuinely be worried about him, despite how Shiro had been treating him lately.

“Like I’m not myself.” He had dreams. Dreams where he was staring at himself with glowing yellow eyes, and he didn’t like it. Something felt so wrong, like there was something buzzing beneath his skin, like he didn’t belong in his own body anymore.

Lance’s brow furrowed as he stared at him, like he was seeing something that no one else could. “It’s probably just lack of oxygen. You should probably sit down. We’ll get through this.” He put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder, guiding him towards the wall. The look on his face was still odd though, like he had pieced together some kind of puzzle and didn’t like the end result.

As they sat side-by-side, Shiro wanted to ask about it, but he refrained, though he wasn’t quite sure why.

“You know,” Lance spoke up slowly, staring at nothingness in front of them. “I’m glad they’re not here now. Keith and the baby. With the oxygen this low…” He trailed off, face twisting into something so distressing that it made Shiro’s heart squeeze.

“Don’t picture it, Lance.” Because suddenly, he was seeing it too. Keith sitting in his red armour, holding a bundle close to him, panicking as tiny lungs struggled to get the air they needed. It would have _destroyed_ him.

“I do want to find him,” Shiro blurted out suddenly. “I’m sorry I’ve made it seem like I don’t.”

Lance nodded his head, and the two sat in an uncomfortable, heavy silence that Shiro couldn’t take at the moment. It was strange, but it felt like the darkness was weighing down on him, like he needed noise and light.

He thought back to his mental picture earlier. “What do you think she looks like? It is a girl, right?”

That seemed to bring Lance to life somehow. A smile appeared on his face and he said, “Yeah. She’s a girl. We found out when Keith passed out on us that time. We weren’t going to tell anyone until she was born, but, you know.” He shrugged. Technically she was born. She just wasn’t there with them. “I hope she looks like Keith. With black hair and indigo eyes. Maybe without the natural mullet.” Shiro laughed at that. “I hope that she’ll have the same confidence in her own abilities as he does. That she’ll be strong and a fighter for what she wants in life. That she won’t have to have the sadness we had.” Lance blinked, as if he realized he just admitted something that he shouldn’t have. “Keith always said that he hopes she looks like me.” He frowned. “I’d just settle on them both being okay at this point though.”

Shiro’s heart went out to him. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose a mate and pup. That was something he’d never experience for himself in quite the same way. Alphas and Omegas were both so much more intense with their instincts than Betas were. Sometimes, Shiro was glad for that reason alone that he was a Beta, sometimes it was the reason he hated being one.

“They are okay,” he said confidently. “I know they are, and so do you.”

“Yeah. I do.” They both fell into a more comfortable silence this time.

Shiro couldn’t help but notice the way Lance was looking at him though, with that same worried, unhappy stare, before he turned away again.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know exactly what it was that Lance saw in him.

...

A cry jolted Keith out of his sleep. He blinked several times, but groaned, burying his face into his pillow.

It was true that Galra needed a lot less sleep than humans did, and Keith had thought that he was on par with them based purely on the fact that he was able to run on a lot less sleep than the other Paladins. After cohabiting with Krolia for a while, he realized that he was absolutely wrong. That being said, Keith was sorely missing sleep.

He sighed and rolled out of his bed when the crying persisted, getting louder and more distressed. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” He leaned against the edge of the crib, blinking down at the wailing baby.

He reached down, scooping her up into his arms. He grimaced at the smell that reached him. No wonder she was crying.  
  
A small part of Keith wanted to take Krolia up on her offer to take care of Karina through most of the night so that he could sleep. He pushed that side away again, because _he_ was going to take care of _his_ baby. He wasn’t going to abandon her.

Okay, maybe he was a little bitter with Krolia still. No one could blame him though, not even her!

He was still glad that she was around. Partially because he was getting to know her, getting to learn about his Galra side and family (though Axca was still a sore topic), and partially because she showed him out to properly change a diaper, amongst many other things that he hadn’t thought of.

The crying calmed down when the messy diaper was replaced with a clean one. She still squirmed around, so he went back to his bed, sitting with her in his arms.  
  
Keith ran his fingers over her chubby cheek, grinning a bit as she yawned. He was _so_ tired, and that left him frustrated and annoyed, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret this.

In the low light, Karina blinked, her eyes looking up into his. Her arms flailed a little bit, bumping into his chest, and she cooed. Keith chuckled, bopping her nose lightly. Her tiny lips arched up into a smile as a distinctive, tiny giggle bubbled from her throat.

He was so glad that he didn’t start crying from every little thing. That had been the first time he heard anything like a laugh come from the baby, who had periods of being very vocal, and periods of content silence.  
  
Of course there were also some times that she would cry for apparently no reason at all, which was very frustrating, but he could deal with it.

Who knew that a _baby_ could truly teach him to calm down and think his actions through? Or maybe it was clearing the air with his mother and getting some answers. Maybe it was a combination, Keith didn’t know.

He rocked Karina back to sleep, and couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about where his thoughts were taking him. The thing was, a small part of him was kind of _glad_ that he was Karina’s primary caretaker, that Krolia only stepped in when he really needed help.  If he were back in the castle, Lance would have jumped on every chance to care for their pup, insisting that he needed sleep, or something along those lines. Everyone else would have been offering help, pressing their ideas onto him.

Here he got to figure things out on his own. He was force to keep his emotions in check, to think and plan, and to figure out how things worked best for him. Yes, he wanted to go home and be with his pack, he hated the fact that he had been _kidnapped_ , but he was also kind of glad for the room it gave him to learn and grow.

With a little more rocking, the baby was soon happily asleep again. Keith moved off of the bed, gently placing her back into her crib. He hovered there for a moment, before smiling warmly and going back to bed for the little bit of sleep he could grab before she woke up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was kind of just a quick dive into the events of S5 in this world, because where Keith was still there for S4 (mostly), he didn't experience ANY of this and I wanted to show some things that were different. Yes, some things are chronologically different, but that's okay! Let you dive into the mentality and actions of these guys a little bit more before...well...just...before. This one's also quite a bit shorter than normal, but I've had to go back and move a bunch of scenes around in a part I thought I was done but nope, I realized it sucked. The end result was that this chapter was shorter but that's okay because another one is going to be quite a bit longer than normal.


	24. A Safe Place To Hide

It was agreed amongst all the Paladins that advertising the fact that the lions of Voltron were traveling around, going from world to world, apparently looking for something, was a bad idea.

Though Lotor was trying to keep things together, reality was, the Galra Empire was in shambles of civil war. Some instantly aligned with the half-Altean, but many others refused since he wasn’t a pure Galra. So really, while they were alone and searching for their friend, it was probably best to keep a low profile.

It was why she made the mad dash to give all of them cloaking. Green’s was the best by far since she had time to fiddle with it, but the others would work for now.

Allura insisted that they still needed to wear their armour, just in case, but it was so distinctive that she also gave them long, black cloaks to wear over them.

For Hunk, it turned out to be a good choice, because so many aliens were wearing them on the planet he landed on. No one gave him a second glance. It gave him the opportunity to look from face to face.

He tried not to be too jumpy, but he couldn’t help it.

All of their scanners were constantly working in their lions, always looking for Keith. They all hoped against all hope that something would come up as they got closer to the worlds, but Hunk couldn’t help but feel a little doubtful now.

He wanted to find his friend more than anything, and Hunk didn’t understand why the scanner had worked to find Shiro when he was fairly far away, but didn’t seem to do the same with Keith. Pidge theorized it had something to do with the fact that Black, Shiro’s lion, was doing the scanning that ended up finding Shiro. This only ended up getting Lance even more frustrated, since nothing was popping up with Red.

Hunk didn’t want to point out that Lance had been the Red Paladin for over a year now. That maybe he was relying on the wrong lion, but Shiro had come up with nothing the times that he went out too. Not that he searched much, sticking close to Lotor instead. That was fair, since someone needed to, but Hunk still wished he’d help more to test that theory.

So when Hunk got a hit from the scanner, he actually cried. Well, he momentarily felt like he was about to have a heart attack, and _then_ he cried. He was about to comm everyone else, but paused, because there was always the chance that it was the system messing up.

He didn’t want to get Lance’s hopes up. He hated how a little bit of his friend seemed to erode away every day. Now that Hunk thought about it, he tended to be alone more often than not now. When he wasn’t on missions, he was searching, and when he couldn’t search, he was training.

It was almost like watching Keith when they first go to the castle.

That was why he decided to go and check out the world himself, which was why he was very glad that he had the black cloak. They were apparently in style here.

He couldn’t get an exact reading, but it had been specific enough that he ended up in a little city with a rather large, bustling market place.

From what Hunk could see, there didn’t really seem to be a specific species of alien around. There seemed to be a wide variety of people, and he even saw a couple Galra, though they weren’t bothering anyone, and no one seemed to be put off that they were there as well. They were just another species that happened to be there.

Hunk made a mental note to tell Allura about this world. It seemed like a good place to gather intel. Maybe he could do that if his scanner was wrong.

Given that there were so many different species around him, no one took a second glance at Hunk. It made moving around so much easier. Honestly, this was the perfect place for someone to hide.

Lance insisted that Keith would be doing that. He would be hiding and surviving, keeping their baby alive, but probably waiting for an opportunity to get back to them. For his friend’s sake, Hunk hoped that they’d find Keith soon. Actually, no, that wasn’t quite fair. He hoped for Keith’s sake that they found him soon. He must be lonely. Though he was said to have his mother with him, so there was that.

Looking up, Hunk found himself locking eyes with a Galra woman. He froze as her eyes scanned him, something screaming in his mind that she was familiar. That he had seen her somewhere before. She was so humanoid though, with actual irises and no fluff or fur to her, that Hun was sure he’d know who she was if they actually met before. Maybe it was the way her hair fell around her face, just like—

He cut off his own thoughts, breath catching in his throat.

She suddenly looked away, moving towards the edge of the market. Hunk took a step forward and stopped. What if it was a trap? What if she was a part of the Empire and recognized him as a Paladin?  
  
What if she was Keith’s mom and recognized him as a Paladin and didn’t want to call him out in public?

Hunk pushed his fears away. He needed to know. The odds of getting a hit on Keith’s genetic signature and finding a Galra woman that looked just like him were slim to none. His friends were always worth the risk too.

He hurried after her, looking around with confusion when she was nowhere in sight. At first, Hunk panicked. He had lost the best lead they had on Keith in months! Then he panicked for a different reason when he realized a knife was at his throat.

“You’re a Paladin of Voltron, are you not?”

“Yup! Yes! That is me! I mean…maybe?” Hunk blurted out.

The knife vanished, and the same Galra as earlier moved in front of him. She stared at him and said, “You should hide your armour better with your cloak, Yellow Paladin.”  
  
Hunk flushed and adjusted it a bit. “Yeah, um, thanks for that. Uh, you seem to know who I am but I don’t know who you are. I’m—“

“Hunk,” she finished for him.

“Yeah, that’s right.” His breath hitched as he realized how she probably knew that. “Are you-?”

She held up a hand, eyes narrowed. “Shh.” She looked around before motioning for him to follow her. “Come. We can talk in private.”

She moved swiftly through the roads, even with a bag of goods that he hadn’t noticed earlier, and it took Hunk a bit of effort to keep up with her. Luckily no one took notice of them.

They took a bunch of twists and turns that Hunk would never be able to keep track of, clearly meant to throw off anyone following them, before stopping at a tiny, one-story house.

Hunk held his breath as the Galra punched a code into the door, and it slid open. She motioned for him to follow her, the door swiftly sliding shut behind him.

Almost immediately Hunk was assaulted with a distinct Omega scent wafting through the air. He _knew_ that familiar, brown sugar smell. Steeling his nerves, he took a step farther into the house and froze on the spot when he saw a familiar figure facing away from him, a very distinctive mullet adorning his head.

Lance was right, it was easy to recognize it anywhere.

“Mom, did you—?“ Keith turned around and froze when they locked eyes. His breath hitched, indigo eyes going wide, and he whispered, “Hunk?”

Hunk couldn’t help it. He immediately became a blubbering mess as he surged forward. “Keith! Oh my god!” He picked the Omega up, hugging him tightly. Keith yelped in surprise. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” He tried to speak coherently between sobs but wasn’t sure it was coming out right. “We’ve all been a mess since you were taken and we knew that the Blade got you out and your mom was with you but we didn’t know where to look exactly but we’ve been trying while dealing with Lotor and Zarkon’s dead and the Empire’s in shambles and I’m so happy!”

“It’s good to see you too, Big Guy,” Keith gasped. “I need to breathe!”

“Oh!” He quickly let the Omega go, watching as he gasped and breathed in and out. That’s when he realized something. “You’re skinny again.”

Keith stopped and stared at him before snorting loudly. Soon, he was almost in hysterics, leaning onto Hunk and beaming brightly. “How did you find me?” he asked, clearly trying to get a hold of himself.

“The Blade figured out the likely sectors you would have ended up in. We’re searched each one and using the same scanners we used to find Shiro. I got a lock on you and came to look just in case it was messed up or – I dunno – you have an evil twin or there or something. Then I found…” He trailed off and looked around at the Galra, who had slipped into the tiny kitchen and set her bags down.

“Hunk, this is my mother, Krolia. Mom, this is Hunk, the Yellow Paladin and our Pack Leader,” Keith said, motioning from one to the other. Before either could say anything though, he asked, “Is Lance okay?”

God he missed how much of a social mess Keith was. It was almost kind of reliving to see that it hadn’t changed much. “He’s a mess,” Hunk admitted. He didn’t want to say it, but he knew that Keith did not appreciate being coddled. He wanted the truth over anything else. “We all are. Everyone’s going to be so happy to see you!”

Keith nodded his head slowly, blinking his eyes, probably trying to get them to stop watering. He opened his mouth to say something else when a cry rang through the air.

Hunk jumped, his eyes going wide. Of course a part of him had _known_ that Keith wasn’t pregnant anymore and that’s why he was skinny again (must have been exercising like crazy on top of that), and he was being cautious and hiding (Krolia had taken him on a wild detour to get there after all), therefore he was probably protecting his pup, but it still didn’t hit him that it means that there was a pup, a little baby, in the house. He was very confused with his own thoughts.

Keith muttered something and quickly moved off to one of the rooms. Almost immediately, Krolia shifted forward. Hunk turned his attention to her, both interested and cautious.

“Keith told me much about you and all the Paladins,” she said with a nod of her head. “It’s nice to finally put a face to a name, though I admit, I am looking forward to meeting Lance. Keith talks a lot about him, and I would like to meet the father of my grandchild.” Her eyes met his. “He’s missed all of you more than he says.”

“We’ve missed him too,” Hunk admitted. He decided that he kind of liked Krolia. She wasn’t a threat, just a stranger right now. “I—I hope he’ll want to come back with us. And you can come too, of course. Allura said you’re welcome in the castle. We can go in Yellow. Not that you have to. But you can. It’d be really awesome if Keith would.”  
  
“That certainly would be faster than the ship I was saving up for,” she said thoughtfully. Her eyes moved, staring at something behind Hunk.

Keith came out of the room cradling a small baby, clad in a little green outfit, in his arms. Lance had spilled long ago that the baby was a girl, but that was all any of them knew. Actually seeing the little person rather than just feeling her kick and punch from inside of Keith (he had let all of them feeling it at one point or another), was something else altogether.

“Oh, wow,” Hunk breathed out as he took a couple steps forward. Keith straightened his shoulders and looked quite proud as he moved the unhappy baby around so that Hunk could actually see her.

She had brown skin, raven black hair, and round, chubby cheeks that were red from crying. Even from where he was standing, Hunk could easily tell that she smelled a lot like Keith, but there was a bit of something that reminded him of Lance too. That wasn’t a surprise. Pups often smelled more like their mothers for the first few years of their life.

“She’s beautiful,” Hunk whispered, sniffling a bit. “Oh my god.”

“She is,” Keith agreed almost smugly, like any Omega preening about their child.

“She’s also probably hungry,” Krolia pointed out, holding a bottle out. When had she made that?

Keith moved the baby into one arm and took the bottle into his hand, giving it to her. Hunk was more than a bit surprised to see that she could hold it on her own already. That definitely wasn’t normal for three months old.

“She can do small things like this,” Keith said, as if somehow reading his mind. “She’s just kind of balancing it after I give it to her. She’s never actually picked one up herself yet.”

Hunk nodded and smiled. Lance was going to be so excited to see them.

“Oh!” Hunk gasped again. “Shit! Ah! I mean shoot!” Keith snickered a bit at his cover-up. “We need to tell Lance and everyone else!” He paused and then stared at Keith thoughtfully. “I mean, if you want me to.”

“Huh?” Keith blinked at him. He exchanged looks with Krolia, who just shrugged.

He wasn’t quite sure where this idea came from, but Hunk needed to be sure that Keith was on board with telling everyone that he was okay. “Well, it’s just, this is a nice place, right? Seems pretty safe to me, and your mom’s here to help you. So I didn’t just want to – I don’t know – steal you from here without your say-so?” It was just hitting him that maybe Keith would want to stay there, where it seemed relatively safe.

Keith seemed to understand where he was coming from. For his part, he didn’t immediately reassure Hunk that he would be going back to the castle with him. Instead, he seemed to think about it for a moment. That was a bit odd for him, but not very surprising. “It is pretty safe here as long as you keep your head down and have some help.” Keith looked down at the baby, taking the bottle from her. He easily shifted her onto his shoulder, rubbing and gently patting her back.

“We’ve improved castle security a lot,” Hunk assured him, and they had. It was nearly impossible to break into the system now. “And Krolia could come too. It was something Allura decided a long time ago after we learned that she was with you.” He turned his attention to the Galra in question. “Or we can take you to the Blade. It’s whatever you want. No judgement at all. We could leave a comms unit for you here…wait that might attract attention. We could get Lance to visit…but then he’d never leave. We’d think of something! Whatever you and your mom want to do!”

“I have no intentions of leaving Keith permanently,” Krolia said, her expression so stern and decisive that it almost made Hunk laugh. Good god, Keith looked like his mother. “However, if he is safe within your castle I can act however is helpful to Voltron. However, if my son chooses to stay here, this is where I will remain.”

Yup. Definitely Keith’s mother. Hunk looked back towards Keith just in time to see the baby burp.

The Omega maneuvered her around easily, handing her the bottle again. The baby glanced at Hunk, and he melted a little bit. Her eyes were shaped like Keith’s, but were the same blue as Lance’s.

“She was always going to know about Lance…about all of you. If no one ever found me and it would have been safer to stay here, I was going to tell her all about her dad who was fighting the universe to keep everyone safe. The dad who chose her name. I was never going to keep any of it a secret from her, you know?” He looked up, indigo eyes meeting brown ones, determination flaring across them. “What kind of person would I be if I kept her from her father? From her family? We’re a pack, right? You’re right, it’s safe here, but it might not always be.” He looked at Krolia. “And you know I want you there too, Mom.” Krolia smiled at that.

Relief started welling in Hunk. “So you’ll come home?”

Keith nodded his head. “I’ll come home.”

Hunk laughed and almost grabbed Keith again to hug him, but remembered quickly that he was carrying a baby in his arms. Lance was going to be so excited.

“Hey,” Hunk said, looking to Keith with interest. “Want to surprise him? Lance? Everyone?”

“How? Just show up at the castle without saying anything?” Keith asked. Hunk stared at him, and his lips ticked up into a smile. “Oh my god, Hunk.”

“What? He’s going to be so excited! He’s going to _cry_ when he sees you again, let alone…” Hunk trailed off and looked at the baby. “What’s her name?”

Keith opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He shook his head. “I want Lance to know first.” He glared at Krolia. “So don’t tell anyone.”

Krolia held up her hands in surrender. “I am a senior spy with the Blade of Marmora. I can keep a secret.”

“Debatable,” Keith said with a shrug, but left it at that. “Sorry, Hunk.”

Despite the fact that he was pouting, Hunk knew that it was fair. It was going to drive him crazy, he was a natural gossip and snoop, but he wasn’t going to push. Now that he thought about it, he might have been the Pack Leader and Keith’s friend, but there was probably a part of the Omega that was screaming that Hunk wasn’t _his_ Alpha, and another Alpha that wasn’t his knowing the baby’s name, or god forbid, _holding_ her before _his_ Alpha could, was bad.

It was too bad, because Hunk really wanted to hold the baby. She was absolutely adorable, and he wanted nothing more than to coo at her as an unofficial uncle. He’d have to do it from afar for now.

It didn’t take long to pack the stuff that Keith had, though this didn’t surprise Hunk at all. He and Krolia worked through most of the items quickly as Keith changed the baby and got her ready to go, even though she fell asleep in the process of all of this.

All too soon, Hunk led the way back to Yellow. He stayed vigilant the whole way there for both suspicious characters, and silly things like raised roots. While he was sure Keith could take care of himself (he had been for the past three months), he was carrying precious cargo in his arms.

Then again, Krolia was there too, and she was just as cautious. It made Hunk feel a little better. If something were about to jump out at them, he doubted it’d stand much of a chance against the protective Galra.

A quick glance over Hunk’s shoulder made him smile a bit. At some point the little pup apparently woke up, and was now looking around the woods with wide, curious eyes, head leaning on her mother’s shoulder. Keith was talking quietly, whatever he was saying was for her ears only despite the fact that she probably couldn’t understand. Hunk wasn’t going to lie, even when the Omega was pregnant, he had a hard time imagining him carting around a baby looking anything less than awkward. Yet he held her, moved around with her, and interacted with her with an obvious ease that just seemed so natural. It was strange yet really sweet to see.

Then again, there was something powerful in knowing who you were, what role you had to play, and how to do it.

Hunk met Krolia’s eyes briefly, and she almost seemed to puff up with pride. He supposed he’d be proud of that too as a parent.

When they finally reached Yellow, Keith came to a stop and stared at the large lion in awe. Even more amusing, the baby looked up, apparently entranced by the large mechanical lion. She made a sound as Yellow leaned down, opening his maw to let them in.

“This is the Yellow Lion,” Keith was saying as they walked inside. “He’s really strong and dependable, just like Hunk.” Though she probably _didn’t_ understand her mother’s words, the baby’s responding coo still made Hunk flush.

“It’s beautiful,” Krolia said, running her hand along Yellow’s hull. “I was following energy on Earth, and it led me to the dessert, but I never found what it was. It feels similar to this though.”

“Blue,” Keith answered. “I felt it too. It was what led us to Blue in the first place.”

Hunk gently placed the bags that he insisted on carrying down beside his pilot’s chair. Glancing over his shoulder he grinned broadly. “Hey, wanna see what we figured out recently?” He tapped a couple buttons, and two chairs seemed to materialize out of the floor, right behind Hunks. “Cool, huh?”

“Can all the lions do this?” Keith asked in awe as he moved forward, gingerly sitting in the seat.

“Yup. Well, we think. Black gives Shiro a hard time sometimes…with almost everything, but yeah, probably.” Hunk shook his head and prepared to take off. “Pidge also worked in temporary cloaking. It’s enough to get us in and out of planets without being caught. Hers is way better though. It’s a work in progress.” His eyes went wide. “Oh! We also realized we can cloak Voltron too! But only if Matt pilots with Pidge to focus on that. Oh man, I bet Lance is going to like, gather you guys up into Red and go on family fights or something!”

“I’m expecting him to be a bit…” Keith trailed off. “Possessive? Not in a bad way. Clingy? Over-protective? At least at first.”

“Yeah, he probably will be,” Hunk agreed, looking over his shoulder once he got them out of the planet’s gravitational field. “Man, you should have seen him with Allura and Lotor – they kind of act like they’re a thing now. He got really snippy with that. If he wasn’t your mate I’d question why, but he’s just being Lance. He hasn’t really been the same since the Galra took you, you know? Been a lot more serious, stressed, and snappy. Doesn’t help that Shiro always gets on his case too just because _he’s_ stressed too. Anyway, Lance is going to be _so_ clingy with you guys. Can’t blame him though, right?”

Keith shook his head, cheeks pink. He shifted the baby so that she was leaning on his shoulder, nose pressed against his neck for a moment. Hunk hadn’t even realized that she seemed agitated until he watched her calm down a bit.

“Lotor is your ally?” Krolia asked slowly.

“Oh, right. You guys have been keeping your heads down. Right. So a lot happened.” Hunk filled most of the silence with his chatter.

By the end of it, Hunk almost had to laugh at the identical gobsmacked looks on both of their faces. A lot had happened in three months.

Keith suddenly looked up at him oddly. “Are we just…going to show up? Not tell _anyone_?”

“Lance, Pidge, and Allura were all out looking for you too,” Hunk informed him, tapping his fingers against the controls thoughtfully. “But I think we’ll be the first ones back, outside of Shiro and Coran.” He paused, thinking about the old Altean. “Coran’s been a bit…look man, he feels _really_ guilty about the whole thing? He thinks it’s his fault because the brain worm influenced him to telling everyone you were pregnant, and then he got knocked out and couldn’t help you. He—he ended up in a pod for a while after that. But yeah, he keeps a strong face, but it’s kind of eating him.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Keith said firmly. “I thought about it a lot. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him.”

“Good.” Hunk paused and almost hesitantly said, “And Shiro’s been…weird? Like, super stressed. He’s even yelled at Lance a few times. I think he needs a nap, honestly.” He noticed Krolia tensing up slightly, and realized that by inviting her into the castle, they were essentially bringing a personal bodyguard for Keith and the baby. As a member of the Blade of Marmora, anyone acting oddly was probably instantly put on her radar.

He got the feeling Lance wouldn’t complain about that.

“But yeah,” Hunk said, going back to actually answer Keith’s question. “We can just show up and surprise everyone. What do you think? I think it’d be a nice surprise, and everyone loves surprises!”

Keith looked down towards his daughter again before looking at Hunk, trying to hide a smile. “It _might_ be…interesting to see their reactions.”

“I kind of hope that we get back before Red does,” Hunk admitted. “That way we can sneak you onto the castle. Honestly, it would be the _best_ surprise ever for Lance. He’s going to cry!” He paused. “Then I’m going to cry. Then you’ll cry. Then the baby will cry!”

“I won’t cry!” Keith denied vehemently.

“I mean, you used to cry a lot.”

“When I was pregnant!”

“You’ve cried several times since having the baby,” Krolia noted.

“Mom!” Hunk laughed at Keith’s terrified look.

“For a baby so quiet, she is very emotional. Much like you were at that age.”

“Oh man, you have baby Keith stories!” Hunk was positively giddy at the thought. “You have to share them with the rest of us.”

“Or not.”

“Of course,” Krolia answered at the same time.

Keith huffed and pouted, sinking into his seat.

Hunk chuckled at him. “Let’s just accept that we’re all going to cry like babies.” He paused and glanced back at the pup in Keith’s arms. “No offense. You actually seem pretty quiet.”

“…I don’t think she took offense to that…” Keith genuinely looked baffled, like he truly thought that Hunk thought the baby had that type of comprehension yet.

It made Hunk burst into laughter. “I missed you, man. It’s good to have you back.”

Keith’s face turned red and he slumped down in the seat slightly. “Yeah, I missed all of you guys too.”

…

Coran was running a check on the gravitational systems of the ship when Hunk popped up on a screen, comming from his hangar. Shiro, who was going through a star map, looked up with interest.

“Hey Coran, am I the first one back?” Hunk asked curiously.

“Yes indeed, we weren’t expecting anyone for a couple more varga,” Coran informed him.

“So it’s only you and Shiro here?”

“Yes. We’re both on the command deck. Is there a problem?”

Hunk looked a little nervous as he said, “Well, um, do you think that you guys could come down to Yellow’s hangar?”

“What happened?” Shiro asked immediately.

Hunk shifted a bit. “Just please come down here.” He cut off the connection, the screen vanishing.

“That certainly doesn’t sound good,” Coran noted, worry welling up in him. He left his scans running, he could come back to check them later, and headed towards the door. Whatever was ailing Hunk, he didn’t want to leave it. He had let one Paladin down, he would not let harm come to another one.

Wondering what could possibly be wrong, Coran almost ran into Shiro, who was frozen at the open entrance of Yellow’s hangar. “Shiro? What’s wrong?”

There was a genuinely shocked expression on his face. Slowly, the Black Paladin stepped into the room, and with a wavering voice, said, “Keith?”

Coran pushed into the room, cobalt eyes locking onto the figure that was much shorter than the Yellow Paladin that he stood beside.

“Hi Shiro. Hi Coran,” Keith said, turning away from Hunk to stare at them with a slight smile on his face. He shifted awkwardly under their stares, tugging the black cloak that he wore closer to himself.

“Keith!” Coran couldn’t stop himself from lurching forward. His heart was beating so powerfully that he was sure it was going to give him a headache. He couldn’t stop his eyes from tearing up slightly at the sight of the young man, standing before them alive and seemingly healthy. He was so, _so_ relieved. “I am so relieved to see that you’re well. I’m so sorry for the events that led to your—your abduction.” He couldn’t help but look at the floor. “I—” What could he say? He had been stupid enough to trust an Unilu? He actually used the brain worm? That was what led to the Galra having knowledge about Keith’s condition, which led to them attacking when the castle was vulnerable.

How could he truly apologize for that?

He expected the young man to yell at him. He wasn’t known for having the best temper, and was more than a bit surprised when Keith said, “No.”

Coran looked up, unsure of what he meant. No as in he didn’t forgive him? He supposed that was understandable.

Keith’s indigo eyes studied him, his face oddly calm. “No, Coran. None of it was your fault. You were always just trying to do what you thought was best for Voltron. And you _tried_ to help me. I just wasn’t fast enough.”

Whatever response Coran had been expecting, it certainly wasn’t that. He expected glares and perhaps some begrudging ‘it’s okays’ that barely hid his anger.

He sniffed lightly and then moved forward, pulling Keith into a hug. He tensed slightly and awkwardly patted his back before pulling away. That was when Coran caught sight of a Galra standing a few feet away, watching them all with interest while cradling a bundle of blankets.

“You must be Krolia,” Coran noted. It was painfully obvious that she was at least related to Keith. He looked so much like her. “I am Coran, advisor to Princess Allura.” He held out his hand.

“Yes, I am.” She shifted the bundle, reaching out to shake his head.

“Well, any friends and family of our Paladins are welcome here!”

Meanwhile, behind Coran, Shiro took a step forward, his eyes locked onto Keith’s form. The younger of the two watched Coran and his mother interact for a moment before turning to face Shiro.

The Black Paladin had no idea what to say. He felt elated and a little bit like he wanted to cry, but at the same time, something in the back of his mind spiked with anger. He pushed that part of him away, and reached out towards him.

Keith grasped his hand, chuckling a bit as Shiro pulled him into a familiar hug. Shiro squeezed him tightly, unable to believe that he was really there.

They pulled back, and Shiro scanned him, taking in every little detail that he could see. Keith’s hair was a bit longer than he remembered, and he definitely didn’t look as tired or stressed. There was something calmer about him, something that hadn’t been there before. Of course, the most notable thing was his flat stomach.

Shiro ignored that for a moment before saying, “I don’t…how…”

“Hunk found me.” Keith waved towards the Yellow Paladin, who had been standing silently, observing the reunions with watery eyes.

Shiro looked at Hunk, who couldn’t stop himself from letting out a small sob, and lurched forward, hugging both of them. “I’m so happy right now.”

Despite his armour, Shiro could smell just how genuinely happy Hunk was. It wasn’t just him; it was Keith too.  

He opened his mouth to ask another question, this time about Keith’s mother, when a very unhappy cry rang through the air. Coran jumped back from Krolia, and Shiro’s eyes fell to the bundle in her arms. She rocked it a bit, but it shifted and got even louder.

Keith snorted and made his way over to his mother. Shiro couldn’t help but note that they highly resembled one another, but that thought left when Keith lifted a baby out of the blankets. Of course, he was skinny, that meant that he had given birth.

“Goodness, look at her,” Coran cooed.

Shiro remembered back to what Lance said, how he hoped that the baby looked like Keith. The first obvious thing about her was that she had Lance’s skin tone and Keith’s hair, but there was a tiny scowl at her face that already reminded him of Keith. He was fairly certain that Lance got his wish.

Coran was right, she was adorable, but something inside of Shiro twisted, something unhappy and dark. It vanished as quickly as it came, leaving him a bit confused, but he shrugged it off.

Looking at Hunk, he asked, “Did you comm Lance?”

“Nope.” Hunk rubbed his happy tears away and grinned. “We’re going to surprise him.”

The baby cried out angrily again, drawing their attention. Keith looked up at them. “She’s probably hungry.”

“Well then, we should head to the kitchen to get the little sprite something to eat!” Coran clapped his hands together. He then held out his arm to Krolia and said, “Shall we?”

She raised an eyebrow, looking far too amused as she looped her arm through his, and Coran led her away.

Hunk leaned closer to Keith and whispered, “I think Coran has the hots for your mom.”

Keith’s nose scrunched up, and Hunk started laughing loudly. Shiro chuckled and put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.” He grinned a bit. “Don’t want to leave them alone too long, right? Coran may end up wooing her.”

Hunk laughed again and Keith groaned loudly, shifting the baby so that her head was leaning against his neck.

Shiro smiled at both of them.

…

Lance’s hands rested on the controls as Red settled in his hangar, barely holding onto them. He sighed and lowered his head, taking a deep breath. It was another bust, and it was getting more and more frustrating. He was frustrated with himself, with Shiro, with Lotor, with Allura, with the Galra, with Team Punk, with everything. All he wanted to do was find his family, was that too much to ask? But instead his friends had to basically ignore him, Allura had to constantly run off with Lotor, and Shiro had to act completely un-Shiro-like to the point where it was really freaking him out.

He was so far away from his family back on Earth, and there was no telling when, or if, they would ever get back there. Yes, he sent a message to them with Sam Holt, but he might not get to see them for a long time. He wanted the family that he gained here back. He wanted his mate and his pup more than anything else.

“Lance?”

He slowly looked up as Hunk’s face appeared on a screen before him, back in his casual clothes. That irked Lance in the wrong way, because how long had he been back? He should have been out looking for Keith longer. Instead of voicing that, he hummed in response, not really feeling up to talking.

“Hey.” Hunk frowned as his eyes moved over his face. “Can you come to the kitchen for a minute? It’s important.”

“Sorry, Hunk,” he sighed, his shoulders slumping down. When was the last time he had actually smiled? “I think I’m just going to bed.” Maybe he’d go by the training deck and train with his Altean Broadsword. Keith would be proud of that.

“I _need_ you to come here,” Hunk insisted. “You can take an entire tub of space ice cream later.”

Hunk seemed to have taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Lance, making sure he ate and took care of himself. It was nice, but at the same time, it was a bit annoying. Hunk was the Pack Leader, and it was his job to take care of the whole pack, but Lance was an Alpha too and just wanted to escape into his designated territory of the castle.

Deciding to humour his friend, he sighed and said, “Alright. I’ll be there in a minute.” He stood up and made his way out of Red. “Hopefully next time.” He patted the lion’s metal paw.

Red growled gently, encouraging warmth rushing over him. Lance closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth before heading towards the kitchen. He was thankful for whatever had put his lion in a good mood.

Lance couldn’t even remember the moment that he started referring to Red as _his_ lion, and not Keith’s. It felt right though.

He nodded at Shiro, who was leaving the kitchen. The Black Paladin smiled at him broadly before continuing on his way, causing him to pause and blink with confusion. He looked back towards the kitchen, a bit curious about what had Shiro in such a good mood.

“What’s up?” Lance asked, yawning as he stretched out his arms while entering the hangar.

“There you are!” Hunk said, turning around to face him. There was a broad smile across his face, and he looked positively giddy. “I was about to come and get you, you were being so slow.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lance shook his head. “I…” He noticed a familiar scent wafted through the air. He blinked several times, realizing that he _knew_ that sweet smell. He knew it incredibly well. “Hunk?”

Hunk’s grin grew even more, and he took a step aside, revealing a person wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, cradling a small baby with a bright green outfit.

Lance’s entire body froze, and he forgot how to breath as he met familiar, indigo eyes. Surely he was dreaming. He must have fallen and hit his head at some point. If it was a dream or a hallucination, he really didn’t want to get up at any point. “Keith,” he breathed out reverently.

“Hi,” Keith said, his voice sounding almost shy and strained as he stood up and took a step forward.

“Keith,” he repeated as reality started to set in. He took a couple steps forward, hand shaking as he held it up. He yanked it back to his chest as the baby whined a bit, head moving so that Lance could see her tiny face.

Something inside of him snapped. He couldn’t remember moving the rest of the way into the kitchen, but the next thing he knew, he was wrapping his arms around Keith and the baby, firmly but gently (he was wearing his armour, after all) as tears fell down his cheeks. “Are you real?” he choked out. “Please tell me you’re real and not some kind of AI, robot, hallucination, or dream.” He would actually break down if that happened.

Keith’s free arm wrapped around Lance’s waist, burying his face under the Alpha’s chin, making him mentally curse his armour because he couldn’t feel him right. “I’m real. We both are.”

Lance shifted away just enough so that he could look down, meeting Keith’s eyes. His heart instantly leapt into his throat, and he ran his hand over Keith’s cheek, cupping it as he leaned down and kiss him.

Keith responded immediately, pushing up on his toes, closing his eyes and tilting his head slightly. Warmth rushed through Lance, and every nerve in his body sang happily. He really was real. It made the Alpha within him croon with excitement. His Omega, his mate, was back in his arms.

An unhappy whine rang out from in between them. Keith drew away from him, hovering in front of his face for a lingering moment before moving back onto the flats of his feet. His arm came from around Lance’s waist, though he pressed his side to Lance’s.

Lance ran a hand across Keith’s back, his hand settling across his shoulders, looking down at the baby.

The Alpha’s breath hitched as her tiny head tilted up, eyes the same as his gazing towards him. “Oh my god.” He reached his free hand out, but stopped when he realized how badly he was shaking.

“I’m sorry,” Keith muttered, nuzzling his face into Lance’s neck, nose brushing pressing against his pulse point. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Lance instantly crooned to him, hand running up and down his back. “It’s not.” He tugged Keith closer, nuzzling his face on the top of Keith’s head.

He heard movement, and glanced up to see Hunk stepping towards the door. The other Alpha stopped and glanced at him.

‘Thank you,’ Lance mouthed, blinking as more tears fell. Hunk smiled brightly and gave him a thumbs up, edging his way out of the room.

He would have to ask how this was possible later, get the whole story, but right now the only thing that mattered was that Keith and their pup was in his arms.

Lance turned his attention back to the baby, once again lifting his hand up. He stopped only to tug his glove off before gently running a finger across the impossible soft skin of her cheek. She blinked and reached up, wrapping her tiny hand around his finger. “She’s—she’s beautiful, Keith.” He took in every little feature that he could see, from her brown skin, to her raven hair, to the slant of her eyes, to the curve of her little nose, to the serious expression that reminded him so much of his mate that he couldn’t help but chuckle.

The chuckle seemed to do the trick, as a large smile mirrored his, and the baby girl giggled happily. “She’s perfect,” Lance whispered, blinking away the tears that welled up.

“She is.” Lance looked towards Keith, watching with a stab of amusement as his mate positively preened at the compliment towards their daughter. He looked up, suddenly looking shy again. “I—I didn’t let Hunk hold her. And I didn’t tell him her name. I wanted you to know and do that first.” He paused. “Well, my mom knows, but she was there when she was born so…” Keith shrugged.

Once again, Lance forgot how to breathe. “I can hold her?”

Keith nodded eagerly, and stepped away from Lance and allowing the arm that had been around him to fall. He didn’t go far, turning to face him again. Lance gasped as Keith handed him the baby, her weight firm in his arms.

She looked towards him, then at Keith, then back towards him. Her little fingers tried to grasp at his chest armour, but couldn’t really get a grip on it. Blue eyes looked towards the armour, and a smile appeared on her face again.

“Hi Cariño,” Lance whispered, his voice shaking badly. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. ‘I—I’m your Papá. I’m so, so happy that you and your mama are okay. That you’re back here with me. I’m so, so sorry I wasn’t there for you…” He trailed off, realizing that he didn’t know her name yet.

“Karina.”

Lance’s head snapped towards Keith’s. “What?”

“That’s her name,” he replied, smiling as he took in both of them. “Karina Akari Díaz-Kogane.”

“That…” Lance stared at him, eyes bulging. “That’s the name I picked.”

“Close to it. Her name starts with a K instead of a C, but yeah.” Keith smiled brightly, though his eyes were watery. “You were just…you really liked the name Karina. You had it all planned out, how it meant beloved, and it was the name of a constellation. Akari was the Japanese name you liked the most.” It had also been very similar to Keith’s middle name, Akira, which could be used as a unisex name, but Keith wanted to give her a name all her own.

“Hi Karina,” Lance cooed to the baby, who made a happy noise in return. Lance lifted her close, nuzzling his cheek against her. He peaked an eye open at Keith, who was watching them with such an adoring look, that Lance felt his heart flutter and a blush cross his cheeks. He held Karina close in one arm, tugging Keith back to him with the other. “God, I love you. Both of you. I’m never letting you go again.”

“Good,” Keith said with a nod, leaning onto him again. He smiled as Karina reached out, fingers grasping at his hair. He reached up, gently prying her fingers away before she yanked it. Karina instantly started whining, only stopping when she was back in her mother’s arms.

The slight hurt that Lance felt that his baby didn’t want to be in his arms anymore must have shown on his face, because Keith nuzzled him again and said, “Everything’s new, right? Her place, new people. She’ll adjust.”

Lance sighed, but smile and nodded his head. He leaned down, kissing him again. Keith hummed happily, lips moving gently against his own. Lance could smell how happy and content Keith was, and he shuddered a bit. He had missed that sweet, brown sugar, cookie-like smell.

Lance pulled back first this time, running his fingers against Keith’s face, taking in all of his features. It felt absolutely surreal and dream-like, having his family safe and in his arms. He was afraid that he’d wake up back in Red, but this felt so, so real that he couldn’t deny that it was.  “I love you.”

Keith smiled at him brilliantly. “I love you too.” Karina cooed, looking up at them, and the Omega chuckled. “She does too.”

The Alpha melted a bit inside, and once again pulled his mate and pup into his arms, resting his head on top of Keith’s. Everything felt right again.

…

Hunk was right, the place Keith had made his home was relatively safe. That being said, Keith had never felt safer than he did right now, his baby girl in his arms and his mate’s arm across his shoulders. Of course, it also helped that he knew his mother was nearby, ready to protect them if need be.

Somehow, all of this made Keith feel comfortable and confident with himself. Yeah, these people around him could protect him, but he felt like he could kick anyone’s ass at the moment too.

They stepped into the hall, and Hunk jumped, a bit startled. He smiled at them warmly, but before he could say anything else, Lance let go of Keith and _threw_ himself at his friend.

Keith chuckled as Lance squeezed Hunk tightly. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” He repeated it over and over again, the words running into one another as his tears suddenly started falling again. Keith wished that he could smell Lance to make sure that it was happy tears, not sad ones. He _knew_ that it was, but it’d still be nice to have that confirmation.

“So,” Hunk said, still squeezing Lance a bit, “do I get to know the baby’s name now?”

Keith let out a bark of a laugh, looking down at his daughter affectionately. He pulled her close, feeling her tiny breathes against his neck. He looked up at Lance, almost flushing at the look on the Alpha’s face.

Keith nodded his head and then said, “I didn’t tell Hunk _anything_.”

It took Lance a moment to catch on, but his face lit up and he squeezed Hunk’s shoulder. His chest puffed up proudly, and he said, “This, the single most perfect baby in the universe, is Karina Akari Díaz-Kogane. We’re calling her Kad-K.”

“No. No we’re not,” Keith replied dryly.

“Aww come on, it’s cute.”

“Hunk, take me back to Heiliario,” Keith said dryly.

Lance practically launched himself at him, arms wrapping firmly around him. “Nope. No take-backs.”

Hunk nodded towards Lance. “What he said. I don’t think my heart can take something like that again. I don’t know how you manage to take care of him, Keith.”

“See, Hunk’s on my side,” Lance said, once again turning so that he was facing Hunk while his arm was slung over Keith’s shoulder. “This is exactly why we agreed that you’re the baby’s godfather.”

That had been a conversation Lance had seemed almost nervous to have with him. Apparently that type of thing was very important to Lance’s family, and he had wanted to use Hunk, but he was worried that Keith would want to use Shiro. Keith had never cared much for religion, so it didn’t matter to him at all. He let Lance pick, and the Alpha had decided to go with Hunk and Pidge. It was predictable, but Keith didn’t mind. 

Hunk froze, staring at them with wide eyes, before he suddenly whined and surged forward, hugging all three of them at once. “I’m honoured. Thank you so much! I won’t let you down!”

Karina whined a bit, and Hunk broke away from them. He smiled broadly and said, “I’m going to make every awesome thing that I know and we’re going to have a party later! Is there anything your mom can’t eat?”

“Not that I know of,” Keith replied with a shake of his head. Hunk nodded and retreated back to the kitchen.

Lance looked at him, surprise filtering on his face. “Your mother’s here too?”

Keith nodded, looking down at Karina. “She said that she’d never leave me again, unless I want her too. I—she helped a lot.”

“Good. That’s good.” Lance’s blue eyes scanned him from head to toe. “So everything’s okay? She’s good? You’re not hurting anywhere?”

“Huh?” Keith looked at him, a bit surprised. He looked down at Karina, who was now sleeping on his shoulder peacefully. “I…she’s fine. I’m fine.”

Lance eyed him skeptically, and Keith tried not to be offended that he didn’t entirely believe him. He hated it when people assumed that he couldn’t take care of himself, but in fairness to his Alpha, he had once gone three days without sleeping or eating not long after he became the Black Paladin. It had been a bad time.

“We had a scanner that was used. My mother made sure to scan me too.” Keith wasn’t going to admit that they had used the scanner more than normal, but it wasn’t his fault he woke up every few hours the first couple weeks, terrified that she wouldn’t be breathing. His mother had humoured him every single time.

They started walking again, and Lance said, “So, your mother…how’s that going? I need to know whether to go full-on protective around you or not.”

“You don’t need to.” Keith shook his head. “We’ve kind of talked about it, and it still hurts, but I get it, you know?”

“She told you why she left?”

“Yeah. I get it entirely. I would do anything to protect Karina too, to do what I thought was best for her,” he admitted. It was something that he had thought about it a lot.

“So what? She left because she was worried about drawing Galra attention to Earth or something? Or about humans catching on and trying to like…send you both off to Area 51 or something?”

“Maybe a bit of the first, but more the second,” Keith told him. “People are judgemental and realized aliens were around, and she needed to protect my sister.” He watched as Lance nodded, but his eyes went wide when what he had said really sank in.

“I’m sorry, did you just say that you have a _sister_?”

“Yeah. A twin. We’ve met her. She was one of Lotor’s generals.”

“That is some wild six degrees of separation,” Lance said while shaking his head. “Maybe you can talk to Lotor about her, but from what I’ve heard, they’ve kind of paired up with Haggar now.”

Keith made a face at that. Haggar, as far as he knew, was the one that had wanted him and Karina. Knowing that Zarkon was gone and Lotor seemed to be on their side made him feel a bit better, but knowing that Haggar was still out there made him wary.

“Hey.” Lance stopped walking and stared down at him. His brow furrowed as he frowned, moving in front of Keith and putting his hands on his upper arms, holding firmly but gently. “They are _never_ touching you or Karina ever again.” His shoulders slumped slightly. “Though I promised you before that you’d be okay, so I can understand why you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Lance,” Keith snapped, anger welling up in him. “No. It wasn’t your fault. There was nothing that you could have done. If you would have been on the ship with us, there was no way that those Galra would have taken us, and I _know_ that. You were doing your job as a Paladin, and you should never apologize for that.” He stepped closer, eyes narrowing. “Things are different now. I can fight again myself, and if anything thinks of hurting her, I’m sending them out the airlock in pieces. So yes, I believe you that we’re safe here, that you’ll do anything you can to keep us safe, as long as you know that I’m going to do everything I can to keep her _and_ you safe too.” He no longer had their child inside of him, meaning he could fight for himself too now.

Lance stared at him before saying, “Holy shit, I missed you.”

Keith laughed and Karina let out an unhappy sound as he startled her awake. She whined and he patted her back. “Sorry, sorry.” He looked at Lance. “Want to hold her again while we…” He trailed off, narrowing his eyes at the room they had stopped in front of. “Why are we at the med bay?” He stretched out his arms. Karina didn’t weight much, but carrying her around all day did strain his arms a little bit. He really needed to get back into shape.

“One, I’d love to hold her again.” Lance held out grabby hands, his face lighting up as Keith transferred the baby into his arms. “So cute. Right, two, don’t be mad, but I kind of thing you should be scanned? Just in case? I mean, I know they probably did it at the hospital and I know you said your mother did it too, but—”

Keith blinked, and said, “I wasn’t at a hospital. I was at the house I was staying in.” Lance stared at him uncomprehendingly, prompting him to groan. “Mom helped me.”

“Have you checked yourself since?” Lance asked, voice raising slightly. Apparently the thought of him giving birth at home and not with proper medical professionals around didn’t sit well with him.

“Not since then,” Keith admitted, instantly feeling like he had done something wrong. “But I told you that I was feeling fine.” Before he was taken, he absolutely would have been annoyed, but he couldn’t find it in him now. He expected Lance to be a bit more clingy and over-protective. He had told Hunk so.

Lance sighed and looked him in the eyes. “Humour me and let me scan both of you? Just so I can see the all-clear with my own eyes?”

Keith was about to argue again, but it occurred to him that this might not be as much about Lance trying to tell him what to do and more with him wanting to settle his own mind that nothing was going to happen to them.

It was just a scan and definitely worth his Alpha’s peace of mind, so Keith sighed and flopped onto one of the beds in the infirmary. “Scan away.” Lance stared at him. “With the scanner, not your eyes.”

Lance laughed and set Karina on his chest again. The baby shuffled a bit, cooing contently. Keith loved how generally quiet and happy his baby was. He had gotten so lucky that way. Bless his Galra genetics.

“Don’t worry,” Lance said as he got one of the scanners. “I’ll take care of you.” His voice lowered a little bit, hitting Keith in his stomach and warming him. He wouldn’t have another heat for another nine months (Galra took a year after giving birth for the body to be able to carry a child again, hence no heats), which was definitely a good thing, because he felt like just being around his Alpha again after months of separation would send him into a very sudden heat.

Just a little under two years without any heats was a bonus for having a baby, he guessed.

Lance scanned him, and hummed as the image took form. He projected it, along with one of scans from before he was pregnant.

“I’m still fat,” Keith noted with a frown, pulling at the bottom of his shirt. “I have stretch marks.”

Lance snorted. “Dude, it’s only been three months, and you’ve pretty much lost all your baby weight. It’s fine if you’re not rail-thin again. And the stretch marks are just a reminder that you were amazing and carried out daughter.” He wiggled his eyebrows at him. “I kinda like it.”

“You liked me when I was fat too,” Keith pointed out. “I told you I was fine.”

Lance turned off the scanner and leaned in close to him.  “Yes, you are indeed fine. And of course I liked you when you were pregnant. You had _my_ pup in you.” He reached out, pushing Keith’s bangs out of his eyes.

Keith felt his cheeks burn, and a whine escaped his lips. Lance laughed lightly, but that smile fell quickly.  “Dios, I missed you so much.” He leaned down and gently pecked his lips. “I was so scared, and I—I felt like I wasn’t myself anymore. It was scary.”

The Omega absolutely understood what he felt, and realized that a lot of it was probably influenced both from emotions and instincts. He reached up and pressed his hand to Lance’s cheek. He didn’t really know what to say to make him feel better though, since it’d just be repeating things that Lance already knew.

“Mom got us somewhere safe, and I didn’t leave all that often.” He flushed a bit. “I didn’t want to leave her, not even for a minute.” He looked down at Karina, running his hand up and down her back, smiling at her.

Lance made a small sound, drawing Keith’s attention back to him. The expression on his face was so soft as he gazed towards the two of them. The Alpha reached out, pushing his hair from his eyes and said, “No one is going to touch her. I won’t let them. I won’t let them touch you. No one gets to if you don’t want them to. Even me.”

“I want you to touch me,” Keith said immediately. He really did. It was comforting, and he missed Lance’s touches so much.  Mindful of the baby, Keith leaned up slightly and kissed him. It was just a quick peck, but it still sent warm shivers through his body.

Lance smiled at him. “Let me scan her, and then we’ll go back to our room.”

Their room, that would be really nice. Lance could get his armour off, and he could scent him properly. Keith nodded his head and watched as Lance scanned Karina, more interested in those results than the ones for him. He felt a little smug when everything was clear.

Keith didn’t need help up, but he let Lance aid him anyway. He rubbed Karina’s back as she started fussing, and said, “She normally has a nap around this time.”

“That sounds amazing,” Lance said, running a hand up and down Keith’s arm. “I don’t know about _you_ , but I could use one too.”

A light purr rumbled through his chest. “That sounds amazing.” Keith wanted to wait and talk to Allura and Pidge, but he also just wanted to hide away and bask in the combined presence of his Alpha and baby.

Everything else could wait for just a little while longer.

The trip back to their room was silent, and somehow each step felt a little heavier than the one before it. When they got there, Keith looked around, realizing that everything had been fixed and put back into place. It looked like no time had passed at all.

“Everyone wanted me to sleep closer to them in my old room,” Lance said, his voice quiet. “You know, so I wasn’t alone here.”

Keith opened his mouth to say something, guilt rushing through him. Before he could say anything though, Lance was moving forward, charging towards the nursery. He didn’t even get the chance to go in there, because the Alpha was tugging the crib, a simple bare frame with firm but comfortable mattress, through that door and into the one that led to their bedroom.

He followed closely, watching as Lance fixed it all up and then stood back proudly, hands on his hips. “There. Now she can be close to us.”

Keith smiled warmly at him, setting the baby down in the crib that she was supposed to be in from the day she was born. Something tugged at his heart as she shifted a bit but stayed asleep, perfectly comfortable in her new bed.

He heard a sniffle from behind him and looked around at Lance, who was biting his lip and staring at him. Keith moved close to him, reaching forward and tugging at his armour, starting to undo the clasps for him. Lance helped, shrugging off the armour, kicking it aside. Keith barely had time to prepare himself as Lance grabbed a hold of him, tugging him so that they were pressed chest to chest.

He closed his eyes as the familiar, intense scent of his Alpha finally reached him again. Keith felt his entire body relax, the smell promising protection and safety. Lance nuzzled his face into Keith’s hair and neck, pressing close so that their scents intermingled once again.

Then he felt the wetness on the back of his neck. Keith opened his eyes and pulled away so that he could see Lance face-to-face. His hands reached up, brushing away the tears that streaked down his cheeks.

Keith didn’t ask why Lance was crying. He knew why. He didn’t tell him to stop, or that everything was going to be okay now. Lance was allowed to feel overwhelmed.

Of all people, Keith knew that keeping emotions in was a bad idea, since they would come rushing out in bursts of wild, uncontrollable anger or sadness. He knew that wasn’t the way to do things now.

“I missed you so much,” Lance whimpered. “I thought about you every day. Both of you.”

“I talked to her about you,” Keith replied, pressing their noses together. “Every day I told her stories about you so that she’d know you _when_ you found us.” A small, pleased sound left him as Lance kissed him again, slow and deep with every little bit of anguish and happiness that he possessed.

It was hard to pull away, but Keith knew that he had to. He took Lance’s hand and said, “Lay down. We all need some rest.” Instead of immediately following the Alpha though, he turned and gently lifted Karina out of the crib.

Lance opened his mouth to question what he was doing, but stopped as Keith scooted backwards onto the bed, into Lance’s arms while cradling Karina against his chest. Keith looked up at him silently, and Lance’s eyes watered a bit as his arms wrapped around him, holding both of them close.

Keith closed his eyes, purring a little bit, which Lance answered with a contented rumble of his own. He’d put Karina back in her crib in a little bit, but for now, Keith wanted to feel his baby in his arms, and he wanted to feel his Alpha’s arms around him. He knew that Lance wanted the same.

 It actually felt like he would be able to sleep peacefully for the first time in months.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept saying IF Lance was going to find Keith, because Lance DIDN'T find him. Hunk did.
> 
> I love playing with language sometimes.


	25. Here With You

Pidge yawned as she slumped down at the kitchen table, wanting to fall asleep, but also kept awake by the delicious scent of all the amazing things that Hunk was making. Allura looked just as exhausted as she felt, her normally poise and grace thrown out the window as she matched Pidge’s yawn.

“Can we just get this debriefing over with?” Pidge whined. “Where is everyone else? Hunk?”

The Alpha jumped slightly and said, “What? Nothing’s happening! What’s going on?”

Both women stared at him as if he was absolutely insane. Allura narrowed her eyes and said, “Hunk.”

“Yes?”

“As you know, this is my castle.”

“Yeah?”

“I do not appreciate people hiding things from me in my castle.”

“Who? Me? What? What are you talking about? I’m not hiding anything!”

Pidge stared at him, and was about to keep questioning his twitchy behavior, when the door opened. She turned around, expecting to see Lance sulking in, but was met with Coran, Shiro, and a Galra in Marmora armour that she had never met before.

Allura straightened up at the sight of the newcomer, quickly climbing to her feet to make herself look a little more proper like she hadn’t been slumped over. “I was unaware that a member of the Blade would be joining us.”

“Her appearance here wasn’t planned,” Coran said, an odd twist to his voice. “Though highly welcomed.”

Shiro’s eyes scanned the room. “It looks like we’re waiting on Lance.” He glanced at Hunk. “Can you go get him?”

“Sure!” Hunk said cheerfully. The two of them seemed to trade knowing looks before Hunk hurried away.

Pidge stretched out and looked at the counters, littered with steaming piles of wondrous non-goo foods. “What’s got Hunk in such a good mood?” Not that she was going to complain. They’d been spoiled lately, being on planets with aliens that _insisted_ they eat until they were about to explode, and then take the leftovers with them, so they got to actually eat things that weren’t goo pretty consistently. It was great. 

Shiro’s smile took Pidge back. She couldn’t remember the last time the Black Paladin had smiled. Instead of answering her question, he motioned to the Galra woman, who had simply observed them silently. “This is Krolia, and she will be joining us for an indefinite amount of time.”

Krolia took a step forward. “I fully intend on complying with any rules or commands that you may have, Princess Allura. Any information I may have is yours, and my skills are at your disposal. As long as it does not conflict with my primary mission.” For some reason, she looked really familiar, and her name sparked something in Pidge’s mind. Something important. Maybe she would have been able to think of it if she had gotten more than three hours of sleep over the past two days.

Pidge looked at Allura with interest, and was taken back to see the Blue Paladin simply gaping at the Galra woman. The Princess took a deep breath and asked, “And what, may I ask, is your primary mission?” She spoke as if she already knew what it was, but wanted confirmation.

“To protect my son and granddaughter.”

Allura’s composure shattered, and her hand covered her mouth as she looked at Shiro. “You found him.”

It took Pidge a moment to understand, but her mind was made for puzzles, and everything clicked together a moment later. Her expression morphed to match Allura. “You—you found—“ She gaped at the Galra. “You’re Keith’s mother! Krolia!” Of course that’s why it sounded familiar!

She nodded her head. “That is correct.”

Shiro shook his head, and Pidge felt like she was going to cry. Then he smiled and said, “Hunk did.”

“How? Where? What happened?” Pidge asked, her fingers twitching as she sat up on her knees. It took everything she had not to bolt out of the room to go and find her long-lost friend. Allura looked tempted to do the same.

“I have no idea.” Shiro shook his head. “Hunk says he wanted to wait and tell us the story all at once.”

“He was resting with his mate, and they had every right to be undisturbed,” Krolia spoke up, eyeing Shiro like she had already made this clear to him, but he was a disgruntled teenager that wouldn’t listen to her. “Though it may not seem like it to you, caring for a baby is difficult.”

A strangled noise escaped Pidge’s lips, because of course if _Keith_ was here, that meant that the baby was here too. That had completely escaped her mind that they weren’t one in the same anymore.

Hunk came through the door to the kitchen, listening to Lance, who was excitedly waving his arms around, though he also still looked tired. It was the liveliest that they had seen him in months. Blue eyes turned towards them, and Lance _exploded_.

“Pidge! Allura!” He waved his hands around excitedly. “Guess what?! Guess what?!” Lance was bouncing on the spot, eyes wide with excitement. He glanced over at the door and grinned broadly. “Behold! My amazing, awesome, stunning Omega, and baby girl!”

Keith had come into the room the second that Lance yelled ‘behold’, and had taken a couple startled steps backwards, looking rather alarmed, one hand actually twitching towards the knife that was sheathed securely on his hip again.

He looked almost exactly like Pidge remembered, with his pale skin and dark mullet. The biggest differences, of course, were the loss of his round stomach, and the addition of a baby in his arms.

“Oh my god,” Pidge burst out, flinging herself from her seat. Swiftly, Lance took the baby from Keith’s arms, allowing her to throw herself at the other Omega without any hesitation. Allura was on them in a second as well, squeezing both of them tightly. Hunk stared at them for a moment, before sobbing and pulling all of them into a hug.

Krolia walked forward, plucking the baby out of Lance’s arms (almost earning a snarl from him until he recognized who it was) and nodding towards the group hug. He smiled broadly at her, flinging his arms around Keith. “Get in here Shiro, Coran!”

Almost everyone was in tears as they squeezed Keith in their group hug. The only thing that broke it apart was the unhappy cry of the baby.

Pidge looked over at her, instantly melting at the sight of her big blue eyes. Her tiny face was twisted in a scowl that looked _so_ much like Keith that it actually made her laugh. “She looks so much like you, Keith.” Her attention turned to Krolia. “And you look like your mom.”

Keith blinked several times and said, “I know I look like Mom, but I think Karina looks like Lance.”

“Me? Nah.” Lance shook his head and wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulder, waving a finger in front of Karina’s face and positively lighting up when she grabbed it. “I mean, she’s definitely my beautiful brown baby, but look at her hair, eyes, nose, and that scowl. That’s all you!” He puffed up and looked at everyone else. “Isn’t she amazing?”

Keith made a face at Lance and said, “She’s also hungry.”

Krolia moved over to where Hunk had prepared a bottle (how had Pidge not noticed that). She put it against the baby’s lips, but the infant had her mouth firmly shut, _glaring_ at the bottle in Krolia’s hand. The Galra woman sighed and held her out to Keith, simply saying, “She does this sometimes.”

“I’ve never seen a baby that young look so intensely annoyed about something,” Pidge said in awe and sheer delight as they all moved to the table. With expressions like that, they were guaranteed to get so many amazing pictures.

Keith took the baby, sitting cross leg on his regular chair (that had remained empty over the past few phoebs), and setting her into his lap. He balanced the bottle for her, and her tiny hands came up, holding it up herself.

“Most babies that young can’t do that at her age,” Lance noted, blinking with surprise, though he was smiling the entire time.

“Really?” Allura asked, interest in her voice. “Alteans babies can. Perhaps it’s because she has Galran heritage as well.” She shook her head. “I’m most interested in how this is possible. Where did you find Keith, Hunk?”

“I’m kind of interested in the real story on how Keith got there,” Hunk admitted. “I only got the cliff notes version, and what we saw on the video.”

“Uh,” Keith looked around at his mother, who nodded in response.

While they ate, Krolia told them the story of what happened, Keith interjecting from time to time. It was strange, listening to her speak. She was very straightforward, like any other Blade they met, but those straightforward words were embellished with emotions. It was so strongly similar to how Keith spoke that it was almost eerie.

Keith had interrupted at the part where Krolia got to the birth, and simply said, “I had Karina.” Either something went wrong and he didn’t want them to know, or he just didn’t want to share details.

Krolia looked almost amused, and Pidge made a mental note to ask her privately later. She got a feeling that there was at least one amusing part to that story. Maybe she could ask Keith. He might be willing to tell her about how he cussed out Lance or something along those lines during labour.

Pidge looked over at Keith as he took the bottle away from the baby, Karina (she approved of the name, it was sweet), and she squawked angrily. He ignored that, leaning her on his shoulder and rubbing her back until she burped, then settling her back down to keep drinking her formula.

It was so surreal to Pidge. She _knew_ how apprehensive Keith had been about being an Omega, about the fact that he _could_ get pregnant at all. She remembered how sure he had been that he’d be the single worst parent in the universe. Yet here he was, going through the motions of caring for his child without batting an eye, making it look like it came naturally. There was nothing overtly different about him, he didn’t necessarily look like what Omegas were shown as. He was still just Keith.

Hunk took over, telling the story about how he discovered Krolia and Keith. In contrast, he didn’t leave out a single detail.

“I’ve never heard of that planet before,” Allura admitted. “It sounds fascinating, and an excellent place to find allies.”

“The Blade has not provided you with updated information on different systems?” Krolia asked, but then sighed. “No, of course Kolivan hasn’t. Too protective over his secrets. I’ll have a word with him.”

“We were in a small town, not the biggest city, but even the Galra seemed pretty chill there. It was like they were just citizens living there too,” Hunk noted, looking quite confused.

“I mean, we know they’re not _all_ bad,” Lance said, motioning towards Krolia. “And in theory there are some that just, you know, try to live with their families. They probably have normal jobs and stuff, right?” It was an incredibly odd thought, but he was probably right. “I mean, just because the leadership and military parts are all at each other’s throats rights now doesn’t mean all the people have to be, right?”

“Of course,” Allura agreed, and then turned to Krolia. “Are there more of these refugee planets?”

While they were talking, Keith lifted Karina up, setting the empty bottle on the table. Lance muttered something to him quietly, and the Omega shrugged. He handed Lance the baby, helping him position her in a way that she apparently liked. Lance smile broadly as he started rubbing her back.

Karina looked around, and seemed to look at Pidge, who couldn’t help but melt a bit under her big blue gaze. A wide smile appeared on her face and she said, “How’s the cutest thing in the universe?”

“I’m pretty good, how are you?” Lance replied teasingly from the other side of Keith.

Pidge snorted loudly, rolling her eyes at Lance as she continued to stare at the baby. “I can’t get over how _little_ she is!”

“Really?” Keith eyed the baby almost suspiciously. “I find she’s getting big.”

Pidge was about to say something else, when Karina burped, white spit-up going all over Lance’s shoulder and down his back.

Lance made a distressed noise, while both Keith and Pidge laughed loudly. Hunk pushed some napkins in their direction, and Keith helped Lance wipe off his shoulder, chuckling the entire time.

“What a good girl,” Pidge cooed at the baby.

“You shut it, or I’m going to point her at you next time,” Lance said, though there was no real bite to his words. Pidge knew that he was too happy right now to be frustrated. The baby could probably mess all over him, and he’d be completely fine with it. “Honestly, what were we thinking, deciding that you were her godmother?”

Pidge’s breath hitched in her throat, and she blinked her eyes rapidly. “Really?”

Keith and Lance exchanged looks before Keith nodded his head. “Yeah. You and Hunk.”

Warmth rushed through Pidge, and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. “I—I, wow. That’s…thank you!”

Keith chuckled. “It was Lance’s idea.” He looked back at his mate and baby, drawing Pidge’s attention there as well.

“Her hands are so tiny! I can’t even picture her as smaller!” She leaned over Keith and wagged her fingers in front of Karina, who tried to catch them. “I can’t believe she’s here. That you’re both here. Also I can’t believe she came _out_ of _you_. That’s a bit freaky.” Of course, she knew that people came from, well, inside other people, but it was so, so strange to think that this time the year before, that little person didn’t exist at all.

“Pidge,” Keith said, a bit of annoyance in his voice, making her think she said something wrong. “I thought I didn’t need to have the talk with you.”

She blinked once, twice, and then Hunk started coughing, choking on what he was eating. “Sorry. I forgot how funny Galra-Keith could be!”

“Galra-Keith?” Krolia asked, confused.

“It’s just a joke,” Hunk assured her. Keith turned his attention to his mother, and when Pidge took her attention away from the baby, she caught sight of the frown on Lance’s face. She had no idea what was going on in his mind, but it wasn’t anything happy. That was odd, since she was so sure he’d just be brimming with happiness.

(His Omega had given birth with only his mother there to help him. His mother that had abandoned him as a baby. His mother that had made him feel like he didn’t deserve to be part of a family.  His Omega had to raise their baby for three months on his own with only said mother to help. He had let his mate down. He was a bad Alpha.)

Pidge frowned as she caught the unhappy, bitterness that tarnished Lance’s natural scent. Keith turned his attention from his mother, looking towards Lance with a concerned expression. “Lance?”

“It’s nothing,” he assured everyone, using his fake smile that they had all become accustomed too. Clearly realizing that no one believed that, he said, “I’m just kind of all over the place right now. So much happened today and…” He trailed off, his blue eyes gazing down at Karina. “Still trying to adjust to the fact that I’m a dad.”

Pidge reached around Keith and put a hand on his arm. “You’ll be okay.”

“That’s right,” Hunk agreed. “We’re all here to help you. We’re all a family!” Shiro and Allura both nodded their heads. “We’ll help you in any way we can! Even babysitting!”

“I vote Hunk for diaper duty then,” Pidge said, earning a laugh from the large Alpha.

“Babysitting?” Keith looked so uncomfortable with the idea, that Pidge almost laughed at him. To be fair, most Omegas didn’t like being too far from their pups when they were so young, and Keith had basically been alone with her for three months.

“Don’t forget,” Krolia pointed out, “I am here to help you however you need.”

“We all are,” Shiro added.

Pidge nodded her head in agreement. She had so many questions for Keith, but now wasn’t really the time for it. Now was the time to enjoy being together again.

It was honestly the best feeling in the world.

…

Lance never thought of himself as a ‘proper’ Alpha. He had always been _wrong_ , had never quite been enough for a male Alpha. It was something his siblings had teased him about, something others in school before the Garrison had teased him about. Yet Keith, who was far from a ‘proper’ Omega, somehow made him feel like he was never lacking anything.

It was funny, because before he got to know Keith, he had been another person that had unknowingly attributed to the dark thoughts he had about himself. It wasn’t like Keith had become weaker or anything like that, no, he had simply become more open and affectionate.

He didn’t question who or what he was as much around Keith, which made Lance wonder who he was _without_ him too now. He had his answer. Allura praised him, saying that he was becoming a better second-in-command, a stronger fighter. The others listened to him when they were in the middle of battle. Yeah, sure, when they were in the castle, most tended to overlook him, or treat him like he was an annoyance, but it was something to start with.

Lance stared down at Keith as he slept peacefully, stretched out on their bed with the blanket the Alpha had bought wrapped around him like a blue burrito. He chuckled a bit and glanced at the crib that they had brought into the room. Karina slept on her back, tiny chest moving up and down peacefully.

His family was here with him. His family was safe. Maybe he still wasn’t _quite_ sure where and how he fit with Voltron, but he knew where he fit here. In this room, at this time, there were no doubts in his mind.

A different smell caught his attention, and Lance looked towards the door. He frowned slightly, leaving the bedroom and closing the door behind him. He hurried to the door that led from their living quarters out to the hall, pushing the button to open it.

Krolia looked mildly surprised that he had opened the door before she knocked, but didn’t seem to let it phase her. Before she could say anything, Lance said, “Keith and Karina are asleep.”

She nodded her head. “That’s alright. I was actually hoping to talk to you.”

Lance blinked a couple times before nodding his head and taking a step inside. She looked around the room with interest, and sat on the couch when he motioned towards it. Lance sat on the chair, and truly took in this woman for the first time.

She was tall like most Galra (Keith’s father must have been short for Keith to be as small as he was).  However, she more closely resembled a human than most other Galra did, making Lance wonder if she was full Galra, or half. It was obvious where Keith got his narrow face, nose, and general build (height aside) from. Apparently he also got his questionable sense of hairstyles from her too because holy crap, was that a rattail? He’d take the mullet over that. There was something very beautiful about her, though he still obviously preferred the younger, male, less purple version.

“You’re Keith’s mate,” she said, her voice calm and smooth. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I can’t say I’ve heard much about _you_ ,” Lance replied, trying to keep most of the bite out of his voice.

Krolia looked slightly taken back. “That’s…fair.” She shook her head. “There is nothing I can do to make my actions okay. Perhaps understandable, maybe forgivable, but it doesn’t erase the consequences of my choices. I mean no harm now, and we have two very important things in common.”

Lance twisted his hands together. “He told me why you left. To protect his sister. I get that but…but I’m not sure…” He trailed off. It wasn’t _his_ place to explain Keith’s thoughts or feelings. He wasn’t sure if his Omega would have confronted her about everything, or if he had retreated, but he didn’t want to say too much. “Did he tell you anything? About what you did to him? About how you leaving was what made him so scared to let anyone in? About how he was alone because his dad died and that side of the family didn’t want him?”

Her face fell. “He told me some things in passing. And I don’t know which one I regret more. Leaving earth, or not bringing him with me.”

At first, Lance was confused about this statement, but then he got to thinking about it. Keith’s twin sister was now in cahoots with Haggar, and the Garrison had treated Shiro like a monster. He couldn’t even imagine what they would have done to an alien mother and her half-alien children. He breathed out slowly. “I’m glad Karina looks entirely human.”

“As long as no markings show up on her when she gets older.”

He looked up, alarmed. “That can happen?”

Krolia nodded. “It has from time to time. Sometimes they appear gradually, sometimes when people are exposed to certain energies like quintessence, sometimes from scars.” She looked at him thoughtfully. “It could still happen with Keith as well, but it’s not very likely at this point in his life.”

“Huh.” It suddenly occurred to Lance that she had probably come there for a reason. “Oh…um…was there something you wanted specifically?”

“Keith talked about you with fondness. It’s easy to tell how much he cares for all of you, but he loves you,” she said, a small smile appearing on her face.”

“I love him too,” Lance answered without hesitation.

She laughed merrily. “Good. That’s good. That’s all I wanted for him. I wanted him to grow up safe and loved. I failed at that, but you and the other Paladins succeeded.” She paused, purple eyes meeting blue. “The reason I came here was to meet you personally. You’re an important person in his life – one of the most important.”

Something warm built up inside of Lance. “I’m glad. I wanted to meet you too. Keith really does look like you.”

She hummed a bit at that. “I always thought he looked like his father, though I suppose I can see it. I’m sure you and Keith will be having similar discussions about Karina as she grows up.”

The thought of his baby growing up was an odd one. Lance didn’t particularly want to focus on that. He wanted her to remain small and smiley for as long as she could. “Are you…are you sticking around here?”

Krolia nodded again. “I told my son that I was never leaving him again, and I intend on staying true to that. If he would rather I leave, I will give him space. It’s whatever he needs. You understand that?”

There was something oddly threatening to her voice. It almost amused him. “I guess I do.”

“Good.” She nodded.

There was a long, awkward silence, before Lance asked, “So…I don’t suppose you want to share any baby Keith stories?”

Lance instantly knew that he had asked the right thing. Her entire face lit up, shoulders straightening, a grin spreading across her lips. “Of course! I actually kept some pictures as well! I keep them on me at all times!”

Excitement rushed through Lance, and he leaned forward. “Please tell me you have them!”

Sometime later, Keith stumbled out of the bedroom, still half-asleep, staring at them like they were the strangest things he had ever seen. Perhaps they were.

“Keith!” Lance called out to his mate excitedly. “You should see these pictures! Karina looks just like you…well like you were colour-swapped with me, but still!” He waved around an absolutely adorable picture of Keith as a baby.

The Omega stared at them silently, before turning on his heel and going back into the bedroom, the door sliding shut behind him.

…

It wasn’t a lie to say that Keith could run on less sleep than the other Paladins. It was his Galra genetics working in his favour, especially now that he had a baby. Was he exhausted? Absolutely. Was he as bad as Lance? Not even close.

He genuinely felt bad for his Alpha. His silly, sweet mate always tried to get up to get Karina before she could wake up Keith – seemingly forgetting that Keith’s sense of hearing was better than most. It was exactly what he had predicted would happen, and he couldn’t exactly blame Lance. If their roles were reversed, he’d want to do everything in his power to help too, to make up for lost time.

“Come on, Mija,” Lance muttered to the sobbing child. “Please stop crying for Papá. If you don’t Mama’s going to wake up and he deserves to sleep. I don’t get it. You were fed and burped and changed. What’s wrong?” He sounded like he was about to cry.

Keith shifted and got out of the bed, yawning as he made his way to Lance’s side. He reached up, placing a hand on Lance’s cheek. “Go to sleep.”

“But you—“

“I’m fine,” Keith interrupted quietly. “I know what you’re doing, ridiculous Alpha. But you need sleep too. You look like you’re about to drop.”

“I feel like it,” Lance admitted after a moment, rocking Karina a bit. He looked at her quickly, helpless eyes turning towards Keith. “I’m her father, I should be able to calm her down.” It kind of hurt that Keith’s _mother_ could so easily get the baby to sleep, but he, her father, could not.

“Babies do what they want,” Keith said with a small shrug. “She’s a lot better now than she was before. She’s just getting used to being here. Getting used to you.” It may have been a few weeks, but these things took time. He nuzzled his nose into Lance’s scent gland, relaxing at the warm, familiar scent. “And she will, but you have that mission in the morning, and you need sleep. I can nap with her tomorrow, or have my mom watch her.” He scooped Karina from Lance’s arms, and nudged his mate towards the bed. “Go. Sleep. I’m going to the living room for a bit to calm her down.” He narrowed his eyes. “I mean it. You better sleep.”

“Love you,” Lance muttered tiredly, pressing his lips to Keith’s forehead before stumbling back over to their bed, face-planting into it and not moving. Keith snorted and left the room.

“You’re going to be the death of your Papá,” Keith whispered to the baby, leaning her on his bare shoulder so that she could smell him easier. He rubbed her back gently as she gradually calmed down. “That’s a good girl.” He nuzzled his own nose into her fine hair lightly.

As he sat in the dimly lit living room, Keith couldn’t help but think about how weird it was that this was his life right now. Somehow, being with Lance, being with the rest of his pack, made him acknowledge just how much things had changed.

If someone would have told him that he would not only have a baby, but feel pretty good about it, he would have laughed in their face. Okay, no, he would have glared at them before storming away, internally ranting about not wanting to fill a specific role and how he’d be a shitty parent.

Keith still didn’t think he had to be anything specific to be an Omega. He could do what he wanted. Though he knew that he was probably going to mess up from time to time, and he wasn’t going to be perfect, he was still going to try his damn hardest to raise his daughter right.

He was pretty good at identifying his own strengths, at figuring out what he could and couldn’t do. He was pretty confident that he was doing a decent job with the little person currently in his arms.

It was scary how much he loved his daughter. Even scarier than what he felt for Lance. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be used to it, no matter how long they were in his life. He didn’t think that he’d care for another person the way he cared for Lance, didn’t think he’d ever find an Alpha that genuinely interesting him.

Keith could still remember thinking that he loved his daughter when she was inside of him, and he had, but it was nothing compared to what he felt when he was holding her in his arms. It was different, getting to feel her tiny breaths and heartbeats, and seeing the smiles and giggles. Not to mention she looked downright adorable when she was pouting or annoyed.

Maybe a small part of this came from the fact that he had found his mother. He got to know her, got to understand her. It was so hard, and he had wanted to scream and yell at her at first, because he had been tired, sore, and just wanted to go back to his real family. He couldn’t do that though, especially once the baby came.

Now that part of him, the part that wanted to be nasty and petty, had vanished. Krolia didn’t take away years of hurt, she couldn’t, but hell if she wasn’t doing her best to be a good mother and grandmother now.

It was like a loose thread in his life had finally been cut. He felt lighter, happier, free.

He shifted Karina off of his shoulder, rocking her in his arms instead. Her eyes blinked open and she stared up at him. He ran his fingers along her eyebrows, smiling as she yawned, eyes closing again.

His lips tilted into a frown. The little girl in his arms had no idea that her parents were fighting in a war. She was entirely innocent, with her whole life ahead of her. Maybe it would have been better for him to stay on Heiliario, to try and shelter her from it for as long as he could, but being with her father, with their pack, was the right thing in the long run.

This wouldn’t be forever. They would win, they had to.

The Galra would take that innocence away. If they were on Earth, and the Galra took it over, they probably would have been kept as slaves at best. As it was now, she would grow up in a world where war would be a constant. Just like Axca had.

He hated the thought.

Keith’s grip on her tightened a bit, and his scent must have become bitter, because Karina twitched and whined lightly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t cry. I’m not mad at you.” He rocked her gently. “It’ll be okay, Karina. We’ll make sure of it.”

He had the sudden urge to move, even if he didn’t really know where he wanted to go. Keith stood up and glanced at his room where Lance slept, and decided that he’d only be gone for a couple minutes. He was just walking around to hopefully soothe their daughter.

He walked quietly through the castle, muttering to his daughter, switching between English, Japanese, and Galran (Krolia had taught him more in their time on Heiliario). He wasn’t trying to confuse her, he was just horrible at thinking of things to say, so he tended to say the same things over and over in different languages.

Keith wasn’t even entirely sure where he was walking when a deep, encompassing presence entered his mind. He blinked and looked around, realizing that he had walked all the way down towards the lion hangars. He was hesitant, before slowly walking into the one closest to him.

Something twisted inside of Keith’s gut as he stared up at the large, red lion sitting before him, his head turned down towards him. Surprisingly, his yellow eyes were lit up, and though he didn’t move or acknowledge him, Keith knew he was observing them.

“Hi Red,” he muttered as he walked forward. He shifted Karina to his other shoulder. “I hope Lance has been taking good care of you. I—um—this is Karina. She finally came.”

For a brief moment, his fiery presence washed over him, and he could feel his curiosity, his excitement, and a surprising amount of protectiveness. He wanted him to stay, but at the same time was urging him to go to the presence that had been beckoning him earlier.

Keith knew that he could count on Red to help protect Karina, and not just because of him. She was Lance’s child too.

Keith took a deep breath and left Red’s hangar, slowly approaching the next one. He entered, instantly engulfed in the vastness that was Black’s presence.

They were surprisingly relieved to see him, actively moving a bit to get a better look at him. Karina twitched at the sound of moving metal, and looked around. Maybe it was shock or fear, but the baby instantly fell silent.

“This is her, Black,” he said. “I don’t know…” He bit his lip. “I’m trying my best with her, but I’m not sure…” Now that he was back in the castleship, Keith felt like he _had_ to help somehow. He wasn’t some kind of house-Omega, but Karina was still so little, and the thought of leaving her too long left him feeling anxious. She was _his_ responsibilit _y._ He didn’t want to do anything that would end up with Karina being alone without him.

He felt bad for his mother too. He could see that part of himself in her, how she was restless at times until she would look at him or the baby. Krolia didn’t regret her choice to stay, and Keith highly appreciated her help, but a part of him was starting to wonder if she should be going out there to do what he couldn’t at the moment. Maybe he’d talk to her about it. The Blade needed help too, after all.

_Take more time with your cub, you’ll find your place soon,_ Black assured him.

Keith exhaled, and looked back at Karina, smiling slightly when he saw her nod off. He nodded his head towards the lion. “Thank you, Black.”

He felt Red reach out to him, projecting an image of Lance to his mind. Keith blinked, a bit confused for a moment before realizing what was probably happening. He turned, hurrying back towards his room. He was almost at the door when Lance stumbled out, hair sticking up in all directions, looking positively alarmed.

His eyes landed on Keith and Karina, a low growl escaping his lips. He reached out, warm fingers running across Keith’s cheek before settling on his back between his shoulder blades, gently applying a bit of pressure.

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” Keith said instantly as they walked back inside of their room. “I thought walking for a bit would put her to sleep, and we ended up visiting the lions.” Lance said nothing, hovering close by as Keith put Karina back in her crib. He soothed his fingers over the baby’s brow as she slept peacefully, and then took a couple steps back to deal with his very unhappy Alpha.

“I—“ Keith was immediately cut off as Lance pulled him close so that there wasn’t any space between them, nosing his scent gland. Keith’s eyes fluttered slightly. “I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“I woke up and you were gone,” Lance mumbled, his voice gruff. “I thought—I thought it was a dream. Finding you. I thought that I made everything up.”

Keith shook his head. He didn’t exactly like the fact that he basically needed permission to walk around the castle, but he also understood where Lance was coming from. They thought that they were safe in the castle before, and he had been taken along with their unborn child. In a way, it was a bit comforting knowing how protective Lance felt for them. It was fine for now.

Lance took him by surprise when he kissed him. Keith leaned up, eagerly returning the warm embrace, allowing himself to get lost in it. Lance’s lips moved against his, tongue brushing against his already parted lips.

At some point, Lance backed them up until Keith’s calves hit the edge of the bed, and they both tumbled backwards. Keith broke the kiss, not used to Lance’s weight being on top of him anymore. It wasn’t like he could crawl on him like this when he had been pregnant.

Keith caught his breath, and Lance was about to lean down again, his scent making his intentions very obvious. Keith pressed his hand to Lance’s chest to stop him, staring at him sternly. “No.”

“No?” Lance repeated, pouting a bit as he instantly drew back. He twisted over and flopped onto his back beside him. “Why not?”

Though Lance’s scent was tinted with disappointment and the barest traces of annoyance, Keith knew that he would always listen, would always stop when he told him to. Keith curled up at Lance’s side, resting his chin on his chest to stare at him. “First of all, you need to sleep. If Shiro’s been as cranky as you say when it comes to missions, when it comes to you, I don’t want to give him anything to complain about.” It was something that Lance had tentatively mentioned, but Keith had yet to see for himself. “Secondly, I’m tired too. Thirdly, I’m not having sex with you with our _daughter_ in the room.” He pointed over his shoulder at the crib.

“She won’t know what’s happening,” Lance pointed out.

“No.”

Lance whined a bit but nodded his head in agreement, cuddling Keith close.

Keith shifted again so that his cheek was resting against Lance’s chest, hearing his heartbeat. “But…”

Lance perked up a bit. “But?”

“But,” Keith repeated, brushing a hand along his ribs. “After the mission and everything is finished, we could try putting Karina in her room and the baby monitor in here.”

“You’d be okay with that?” Lance asked almost cautiously. He had a big family. He _knew_ how Omegas tended to get around their pups.

It would be odd for Keith, since she had always been in the same room with him, but he knew it had to happen eventually. It wasn’t like she’d be far. Her room was literally on the wall opposite theirs, and they had the baby monitor. She’d be fine. Not to mention he and Lance weren’t _just_ parents. They had to take time for themselves too and it had been so long. “Yeah.”

Lance all but purred happily, holding him close. “I’ll hold you too it.” He pressed his lips to Keith’s forehead. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” His entire family smelled so happy and content, that it was very easy for Keith to fall asleep.

It was really all he had wanted in life.

…

One mission in to help a world where there were feuding Galra, and Keith realized how truly _useless_ he was. He had his own blade back (his mother’s blade that she insisted he keep for now), and he did train a little bit, but not nearly enough. Not to mention he just didn’t do much to help the coalition in any way.

Krolia was staying with him in the castle this time. No one really wanted to leave him and Coran alone just yet, considering what happened the last time they had. He didn’t know who that was more insulting towards, honestly.

Keith loved his daughter dearly. He wouldn’t trade her for anything, but he still felt like they were both burdens to everyone else. It was different when he was living in his small home back on Heiliario, since he had been removed from the action all together. Here he got to see it up close, and was helpless to do anything.

He found himself wandering into one of the viewing platforms, sitting down with his legs crossed as he held Karina in a sitting position. He didn’t know much about these specific stars, and he wasn’t even sure if her eyes were quite developed enough to see them yet, but telling her what he knew about the stars and the universe was something that he wanted to do with her. It was almost like his father was sitting beside him too.

Keith wondered what the man would have thought of Karina. Surely if he had loved Keith, who was a difficult, albeit quiet, child, he would have loved Karina, who was a pleasantly happy, albeit quiet, child. Krolia had said more than once that he would adore her, and Keith hoped it was true.

He also wondered what his sister would have thought about her. Axca had been on his mind ever since Allura mentioned that they would be hopefully meeting up with Lotor after this mission. He followed Lance’s example of distrust towards the new Emperor, but he also knew that Lotor was likely his best chance for answers about his sister.

“When we get back to Earth I’m going to teach you all about the constellations you can see from there, including the one you’re named after,” Keith spoke to Karina. “The one you’re named after used to be part of a big one called Argo Navis. The other two are Puppis and Vela, but don’t worry, _if_ you have any brothers or sisters in the future, we won’t name them that.”

What would Lance’s family think of them? Surely they’d adore Karina, how could they not? Everyone else said that she looked more like him with Lance’s skin tone and eye colour, but Keith genuinely could see his mate within their pup’s features, especially when she smiled.

What Lance’s family would think of him was something else altogether. They’d probably be unimpressed. He was rather useless, after all.

“Keith.”

He looked around, a powerful sense of déjà vu rushing over him as Shiro approached them. This was just like when he first spoke to Shiro alone after everyone found out that he was pregnant. That felt like a lifetime ago.

“Hey Shiro,” he replied, though his attention was drawn back to his daughter as she blew bubbles out of her mouth. “Mission’s over?”

Shiro sat beside him and was silent for a moment. He chuckled a bit. “Yes. I imagine Lance will be hunting you down soon, but I think he needed to blow off some steam.” Keith looked up to him as he frowned. “He and I haven’t exactly been seeing things eye-to-eye lately.”

He breathed out, having caught Shiro’s attitude earlier than morning when he thought that they should prioritize going to Lotor, since this world wasn’t actually being attacked. Something about that made Keith’s insides squirm uncomfortably.

He ran his fingers through Karina’s soft, dark hair, trying to keep calm. “You’ve been through a lot.” He paused. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

_“He said that he doesn’t feel like himself lately,” Lance said to him, concern tinting his voice and scent. “I don’t—I don’t know Shiro as well as you, so I can’t really…judge that. I mean, I can, but I figure you knew him the longest. He’s basically your brother. Maybe you could check it out?”_

There was something that Lance wasn’t saying, something that he wanted Keith to see for himself without any bias. That was fine, he could work with it.

“I don’t know.” He looked back up at Shiro, a bit taken back to see how distressed he actually looked. “More and more lately, I feel like something’s off, but I don’t know what. I can’t let the rest of the team down though.”

Keith slowly nodded his head. “They’d understand if you need some time.”

“Absolutely not,” Shiro snapped. “We can only handle so many useless paladins, Keith.” The Omega physically flinched away from him at that, and Shiro looked horrified with himself. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m saying. Sorry.”

“Sure,” Keith said, his voice tense. Shiro wasn’t the type of person to pick at someone’s insecurities like that. Not at all. It was like talking to a completely different person.

Karina suddenly squeaked happily, drawing the attention of both men. She was staring at Shiro’s prosthetic arm with wide eyes, tiny mouth in a perfect O. Shiro moved it, and she screeched happily, arms flailing as the light bounced off of it.

“I think she likes your arm,” Keith said slowly.

“Well, it _is_ really shiny,” Shiro conceded, though he seemed a bit taken back at someone _liking_ his arm. Slowly he brought his metal fingers closer to her, pausing to look at Keith, who was tense.

He sounded like Shiro again, but something about this felt so wrong to Keith. Still, he nodded his head, hand inching towards the blade on his belt, ready to call out for his mother or Lance.

Why was that his reaction to _Shiro_?

Seeing that he wasn’t protesting, Shiro allowed the now incredibly happy baby to curl her tiny fingers around his metal ones.

Keith watched as Shiro smiled in a soft way that he hadn’t seen in a very long time. “She’s beautiful, you know? And I haven’t been very supportive, but I am very proud of you.” He put his flesh hand on Keith’s shoulder and squeezed encouragingly.

Keith couldn’t help but smile back at him. This was his Shiro, the one that he had been missing ever since they came back. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

Maybe Shiro’s harshness was just from stress. Maybe he used to snap at Keith so much because he had been a horrible leader, but was apparently a semi-successful parent. Though Keith was very proud of himself for how he managed to take care of his baby so far, Shiro’s doubts on his leadership abilities _still_ stung for some reason.

Lance’s worried face swam into his mind. The Alpha was so sure that something was wrong with Shiro. Keith couldn’t let his emotions, his want to know that Shiro was fine, to cloud his judgement.

“You’re not useless, or a burden,” Shiro said suddenly. “You’re not. Raising a child is nothing to scoff at. It’s important and not doing _nothing_. Don’t ever feel like that, alright? We all have a part to play. This is yours for now.” He smiled slightly. “Besides, I’m sure that if we had a sixth lion, you would be putting her in protective armour, strapping her to your chest and going with the rest of us.”

Keith was taken back by the idea entirely. Not because he didn’t want to help and wouldn’t be tempted to fly a lion, but the thought of taking his _daughter_ into a mess like that made him bristle.  That actually did not appeal to him in the slightest, and he didn’t understand how Shiro thought he’d like that idea.

Something sour settled in his stomach. He pulled Karina close and moved to his feet. “I should probably go find Lance.”

He needed to get away from Shiro.

Something was wrong. Something was so horribly wrong.

…

In a different reality, where Lance didn’t have a mate that he was so stupidly in love with, where dynamics weren’t a thing, maybe someone could have accused him of being jealous of Allura and Lotor’s apparent closeness. In yet another, that was probably true. This wasn’t those universes though. His wariness of the Galra Emperor came from his protective instincts, the ones that made him worry about his family.

He had been snappy and worried with Allura. The thought of _Keith_ coming face-to-face with Lotor made him downright spastic.

“I _need_ to talk to him, Lance,” Keith insisted. “He’s the _only_ one that can give me answers about Axca.”

“And you _have_ to bring Karina with you?” he asked bitterly.

“Lotor won’t hurt either of us,” Keith insisted. “Her being there will most likely make him _more_ likely to answer my questions, and you and Allura will be there too. If something happens, my mom will come flying in so fast Lotor won’t know what hit him.” He looked up at Lance with those indigo eyes, so sure and confident of himself. “You _know_ I’d never put Karina into a bad situation.”

Lance _did_ know that, but that didn’t mean that he had to like it. It was why he had plans to stay glued to Keith’s side, and why he was in the process of shoving his bayard into his pocket.

Keith made a thoughtful sound as he pulled on his own red jacket, eyeing Lance a bit. “You got taller when I was gone.”

“Huh?” He looked around, staring at his Omega with confusion.

Indigo eyes narrowed as they studied him. Keith stepped closer, and Lance realized that he was indeed looking _down_ at him more than before. It wasn’t an extreme amount or anything, but still noticeable. He hadn’t given it much thought, but Alphas _did_ tend to get a bit of a growth spurt somewhere from their late teens to mid-twenties.

Keith suddenly looked terribly amused. “You didn’t even notice, did you?”

“That I got taller? No,” Lance admitted. “You’ve been back for weeks now and you didn’t notice either.”

Keith didn’t acknowledge that. Instead, his eyebrow arced and he said, “Not just that, but you’ve been filling out more too.” He ran his hand down Lance’s arm and smirked at him. “Not _as_ much of a string-bean as before.”

Oh hell. Lance was never quite sure how to deal with flirty Keith. It always made him flustered.

He had been training a lot in Keith’s absence, so the fact that Keith could see a difference actually made him a little proud. He had been spending more reasonable amounts of time training lately, since he had a family to spend time with again. He’d have to pick that up again, since swinging around that Altean sword was a lot more physically demanding than shooting was. He could even ask Keith for help with that.

Lance’s eyes roamed over Keith’s form. In contrast, something about him seemed a bit softer. Maybe it was because he still had a bit of his pregnancy weight left, or because he hadn’t been training himself to the point of exhaustion, but Lance found that he liked it.

“Is it a bad thing?” he found himself asking.

“Are you asking me if it’s a bad thing that you’re taller and stronger?” Keith asked, eyeing him skeptically. “Don’t get too full of yourself, I can probably still toss you around.”

God, Lance hoped so. On that note though, he eyed Keith, who stared back at him suspiciously.

“No!” Keith suddenly said, eyes going wide. At the same time, Lance lurched forward, grabbing him around his hips and tugging him up. Keith snorted with laughter as Lance slung him across his shoulder.  

Lance stumbled a bit, but managed to get himself steady. Keith wasn’t exactly light, he still has muscle to him, and Lance probably couldn’t carry him any long distances, but he could still lift him well enough, and that was pretty encouraging.

“Alright, you made your point, let me down.”

Lance was about to do as his mate asked, when he caught a distinctive smell coming from Keith and smirked. “You know, how strong you were always got me going a bit. Is it doing that for you too?”

“Lance!” Keith smacked his back and struggled to get down.

The Alpha chuckled and leaned forward, letting him fall back down onto his feet. He grinned broadly and Keith’s pink cheeks and leaned forward for that their noses were brushing against one another. “It _does_ , doesn’t it? You _like_ that your Alpha’s so strong, don’t you?”

Keith’s cheeks went completely red, but then he managed to get control of his facial features. He grinned at him, leaning even closer, keeping eye contract with him. “I don’t know about that. A lot of muscles are okay, but there’s something nice about being lean too.”

Lance felt his face flush. Yes, he didn’t really know how to deal with flirty Keith, even now. It had surprised him the first time he _realized_ that Keith was flirting in him, even moreso when he realized that Keith had been giving him those flirty looks for a very long time (“Well, yeah. I thought you were hot even if you were a jerk.”). It was so much more subtle than anything Lance had ever done, using looks, grins, lower tones of voice, curving his eyebrow, leaning closer. It was enough to drive him nuts. The Omega absolutely did it to tease him and drive him crazy.

Still, Lance made a note to himself to not get into bodybuilding. Not that he planned on it, but his brothers tended to be able to goad him into most things and if Keith liked lean, he was good as is. “No, but that’s not the same as strength, right? Look at you, you’re practically tiny, but you can kick anyone’s ass.”

Keith’s eyes flashed. “I’m _not_ tiny. You’re only a few inches taller than me, and Hunk and Shiro don’t count cause they’re oddly tall.” His eyes flickered towards the nursery that Karina was napping in when a little whine came from there, but he focused on Lance again instead of rushing to her.

Lance felt the twitch to go check on the baby too, but Keith had insisted that they were trying to get her to self-soothe too and they didn’t need to run to her at every moment. She’d be coddled in her mother’s arms during the meeting with Lotor anyway.

That brought Lance full-circle to his earlier thoughts, bristling a bit. He sighed and rested his hands on Keith’s hips. “I don’t want you to go talk to Lotor. I want to keep you here with me.”

Keith fiddled with his jacket and said, “It’ll be fine.” Indigo eyes looked up towards him, and Lance couldn’t help but notice that they seemed to have a bit more violet to them than they used to.

He leaned down, pressing his lips to Keith. The Omega made a surprised sound, but pressed back, hands sliding up to rest around Lance’s shoulders.

Lance suddenly had the urge to pick Keith up and stumble into their room. Well, no, it wasn’t exactly suddenly, it had been on his mind a lot.

He whined a bit as Keith gently pushed him away. He looked almost regretful as he said, “We have to go meet Allura and Lotor.”

Lance blew a raspberry out of his mouth. His shoulders slumped, and he was about to say something else, when Karina’s cries became a little bit louder. Less whiny and more ‘I made a mess in my diaper and/or I’m hungry’.

Keith took a step back from him, turning to go to their baby. It irked Lance in a pleasant way to see that all of the Omega’s insecurities about being a bad parent weren’t coming to fruition. In fact, the Alpha side of him preened and melted at how well Keith cared for their daughter.

So he felt a little bit guilty about being frustrated. All he wanted was some time alone with his Omega. Preferably when they were naked, but they could work around that. It didn’t change that fact that he was, in fact, frustrated.

It ebbed away a bit as Keith appeared with their once again happy, clean daughter, the Omega trying to keep a straight face, but a smile was twitching at the corner of his lips.

Lance snorted loudly when he realized what Karina was wearing. “Is that the Altean dress Allura gave her? It looks ridiculous!” It was a shiny pink colour with gold trim and a puffy skirt. Allura was going to _love_ it.

The brief bit of happiness Lance felt faded away as they walked down the hall. By the time they got to the command deck, he was in a pretty bad mood.

They didn’t have an official meeting or anything, but Pidge and Hunk had agreed to keep Shiro busy for a while, since he tended to get a bit weird around Lotor as of late, and no one wanted to aggravate the situation any more than they had to.

Sure enough, Allura and Lotor were alone when they entered. Allura looked up first, her eyes going wide with delight when she spied Karina. She clapped her hands together and said, “She looks so lovely!” She made her way over to them. “May I?”

Keith nodded and handed Karina over to her. Allura laughed happily, twirling around with her, earning excited giggles from the baby.

Lance grinned at the sight, because his little girl actually looked like the princess he knew she was. He had noticed that Keith tended to keep her in pretty simple things, and didn’t seem to care about what colours he slapped onto her. Lance at least tried to coordinate.

The Alpha’s attention turned from his mate and pup, focusing on Lotor, who stood a few feet away. The half-Galra was watching Allura with an oddly soft expression on his face. Maybe he wasn’t bad, maybe he honestly liked Allura, Lance didn’t know. He’d choose to remain on his guard for now. As sad as it was, he got even more iffy vibes from Shiro lately anyway.

Lotor blinked, staring at Karina oddly before looking at Keith, his eyes barely brushing over Lance. It made the Alpha tense slightly, but Keith didn’t seem at all bothered. Maybe it was because he _knew_ Krolia was lurking nearby somewhere, close enough to hear if something went wrong.

“You’re the paladin the witch attempted to abduct,” Lotor noted. “The one who’s part Galra.” Lance could tell that there was a little bit of interest there, and it made him bristle slightly.

“How do you know that?” Lance asked, breaking his promise not to interrupt.

“Allura came to me for information,” Lotor explained. “Unfortunately, I had none to give.” He turned his attention back to Keith, watching as Allura handed Karina back to him. “Your child seems strong. It’s fortunate that the Galra that took you were competent enough to realize that turning you over to the witch would have brought harm to you. Alteans do not have the same instincts.”

Lance shifted closer to Keith as he held the baby close to him.

“You were the Black Paladin I first met, were you not?”

Lance was about to argue, but Keith nudged him gently. “I was,” the Omega agreed with a nod. “I helped fight against your generals before too. Lance tells me they sided with Haggar.”

“So it would seem,” Lotor said, his voice becoming guarded.

“Why does that matter?” Allura asked, stepping beside Lotor.

Keith raised his eyebrow slightly at her defensiveness. “I want to know about one of them.” He shifted Karina in his arms, the little girl suddenly staring at Lotor in awe. Her tiny hands twitched, and Lance could almost picture her grabbing the Emperor’s long hair. It would have been hilarious. “Axca.”

Allura looked between them curiously, and Lotor asked, “Why do you want to know about Axca?”

Keith stared at him and said, “She’s my twin sister.”

…

_“She was incredibly loyal, until the others convinced her to turn on me. She was my right hand.”_

Keith stared at the gladiator in front of him, sweat dripping down his face. He lashed out at it, defeating it with his Marmora blade. He sighed and stretched out, contemplating going for another round.

_“She wanted to end the war. To create a better Empire than the monstrosity my father established. Axca was highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, not dissimilar to yourself, if what I’ve heard is correct. I can see the similarities, now that I’m looking for them.”_

He wasn’t quite as graceful as he used to be, mostly because he was out of practice, but it also wasn’t as bad as it could have been. He managed to defeat the Gladiator, though it was definitely more difficult than it used to be. He’d get there though.

_“And she still turned on you? Why? And why go to Zarkon and then Haggar?”_

_“She feared some of the things that I needed to do. She didn’t understand.”_

Movement caught his attention, and he instinctively turned to look over at the opening to the safe room just beside the training room. After the incident with the castle being infected, Coran made sure that there was a safe area the Gladiators would instantly shut down in. That was where Keith had positioned a playpen Allura gave him. Karina was shaking something around in her hand, but seemed to be content all the same

_“As for siding with my father and now the witch? Axca is doing what she does best: surviving.”_

Little by little, Keith found that he was okay with leaving Karina with the others. Though his first choice was always Lance, and if Lance couldn’t, it was his mother. Some days it made him really antsy, and unfortunately today had been one of those days. He was getting better at it though.

 Seeing that his child was fine, Keith turned back to the movement, and realized that it was his mother.

“Your movements are improving,” Krolia noted as she walked into the room. “A little rough around the edges.”

“I’m nearly a year out of proper practice,” he pointed out, stretching out his arms and legs. “Not to mention I still need to get the baby weight off.”

The Galra eyed him and frowned. “You’re small enough that I could carry you around in one arm. I’m sure Hunk could do the same.”

Keith made an unimpressed sound before he stretched out. “Spar with me a bit?”

She nodded, choosing her own weapon. Sometimes Keith wondered if she wanted her blade back, but she never asked for it, so he never offered. That might have been because he felt comfortable with it, and he didn’t have a bayard.

“There’s a meeting with Kolivan soon, isn’t there?” Keith asked as he blocked a strike, jumping when she immediately tried to swipe his legs out from under him.

“There is.”

“Are you going to go back if he asks?” Keith ducked down and rolled out of the way. “I wouldn’t blame you, if you did.”

Krolia hesitated, and he took advantage of that but striking out at her. She blocked the attack. “That would depend on what he wants me to do, and what you’d like for me to do.”

Their weapons met and they stared at one another. Keith sighed and said, “I want you to feel like you’re doing something to help. I wish I could do more, but I’m not…” He wasn’t _that_ okay with leaving Karina alone yet. He knew he could physically put on his armour and probably hitch a ride with Lance to help them, but again, the thought of leaving his baby like that made him feel sick.

Keith grunted as Krolia managed to knock him to the ground, pinning him with the staff that she was using. “We’ll see. I’d rather have a good, specific goal if it meant going on another mission. Something that will directly help you and the coalition.”

The door to the training deck slid open, and Pidge stumbled into the room, startling both of them. Krolia moved her staff, and Keith jumped to his feet. “Pidge? What’s wrong?”

“Thank you for being so predictable,” she said, out of breath. “So, Hunk sent me to get you as quickly as possible, cause like, we need you to deal with Lance.”

Keith’s brow furrowed, and he was about to tell her off, because more than once he had been asked to ‘deal with Lance’ in the past, meaning that he was telling bad jokes or something like that and driving them nuts. It was kind of insulting to both of them. He stopped himself this time though, because there was a bit of genuine distress to her scent.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. He looked towards his mother as she shifted behind him, moving towards Karina to pick her up. Knowing that his mother had his baby, he was able to give Pidge his full attention.

“Well, you know how stress can be bad on Omegas? It can make us skip heats or make them kind of come out of nowhere?” Pidge asked slowly.

“Yeah?”

“Well, apparently a lot of stress and aggression can do something similar to Alphas? By making them go into ruts? Bad ones that could end up in fighting if the wrong person is around?”

Keith felt the blood rush from his face. He knew that Lance’s scent had been a bit off lately, but he had put it up to stress. It was the exact same assumption Lance had made before they found out he was pregnant. He felt like an idiot. His mate was _always_ on edge lately, and nothing he did seemed to help.

“Where is he?” Keith asked her.

“Hunk’s keeping him in the kitchen. He kind of almost went after Shiro,” Pidge said reluctantly. “You can’t miss him, he really stinks.”

Oh hell. Hunk being there would just make it worse for Lance. Alphas did _not_ play well with other Alphas when they were in ruts for long periods of time, not even their best friends. They could also get overly protective of any Omegas around, so it made sense why Hunk would have sent Pidge to get him. It would lessen any tensions that might be there.

In the end, the only ones that wouldn’t end up on the aggressive side of an Alpha in a rut was their mate and pups. Of course, Keith _knew_ that Lance had amazing control over himself, he didn’t fall to these lesser instincts, but at the same time, he was only human, and he had been under a lot of stress lately.

There was something else that he had to deal with first though.

Keith looked at his daughter and then his mother. “Can you take care of her for me? Ruts…I don’t know how long it’ll last.”

Krolia nodded her head. “Of course!”

“The rest of us will help too,” Pidge insisted.

He slowly nodded and reached out to take Karina from his mother. “Come on, let’s get some of her stuff.”

That turned into a not-so-quick raid of Keith’s room, and setting up Krolia’s with a crib and everything that the baby would need for about a week, let alone a single day. Pidge looked almost amused as Keith kept finding things that the baby might need.

They found themselves _back_ in Keith’s room as he looked around for other things that his pup might need.

“Calm down,” the younger Omega said to him. “She’s going to be fine. We’ve all got this, right?”

Krolia nodded her head, but smiled at her son. “I understand. The first time I spent time away from you and your sister was very hard. I will not let you down.”

Keith looked down at the baby that was contently curled up in his arms, and it broke Keith’s heart a little bit. He knew that it was ridiculous, they were going to be in the same castle, but a part of him felt like he was abandoning her.

Pidge’s expression softened, no doubt able to smell his distress. “Think of it this way. She’s having a sleepover with Grandma Krolia! And playtime with Aunt Pidge and Uncle Hunk! You’re not leaving her somewhere, we’re borrowing her from you, so you should find something else to do with your sudden free time. And would you look at that, your mate is in a rut. You should deal with that.”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh a bit. Despite this, his arms tightened a bit around the infant.  Krolia stepped up to him and said, “She’ll be fine, you could use some time with Lance anyway, and I admit, I would like a little time with her. It’s been so long since I’ve been around a baby before her.”

He let out his breath, and let his mother take the baby from his arms. Karina looked at him, and Keith didn’t know what he expected, maybe anger or tears, but she just beamed and started babbling. They were right, he knew he was being dumb. He wasn’t abandoning her. She was literally in the same castle he was.

Keeping that in mind, he nodded at them, a single for Krolia and Pidge to leave. Keith kept his eyes on Karina as they left until the door shut behind them.

He flopped back against the couch that was in the suite. This really should not be as taxing as it was. He was being completely and utterly ridiculous even to himself.

Keith took a couple minutes to get his composure back, and stood to leave the room in order to find Lance. He had left him far too long with only Hunk, and given that Lance had a mate and pup in the castle, Hunk keeping him away for too long would probably end up going badly.

It made him wonder what would happen if two Alphas were in a relationship together.

He was a couple steps from the door when it flew open and the man in question came storming into the room. Keith gasped as Lance full-on plowed into him by accident, but the Alpha caught onto his mistake quickly, arms going around him keep to stop him from falling. The reaction time was actually very impressive.

The next thing Keith knew, he was tugged forward so they were chest to chest, Lance’s face burying into his neck, seeking out his scent gland as he held him close, hands pressed firmly against his lower back. Keith’s fingers gripped Lance’s shoulder, and he was not at all proud of the sound that came out of his mouth when Lance sank his teeth into his scent gland. Outside of eats it kind of hurt, but in a good way. Maybe that was just Keith though.

Keith blinked rapidly, knowing that he had to focus, at least for a few minutes. Despite this, he couldn’t stop himself from responding to the scent of his own Alpha in a rut. It probably smelled disgusting to everyone else, but the scent was designed to pull their Omega (once they were mated, outside of that it was just an Omega in general) in, and he was definitely being affected already.

Omegas had their own versions of a ‘rut’, as it were, that were separate from their heats. The symptoms were generally the same, just to a lesser extent, as well as being temporary. Not to mention it happened without the fertility since an Omega’s body was normally nowhere near ready to carry a child (unless it was just before a heat was due, which sucked for those Omegas, because it meant an extra-long heat).

It was commonly accepted that this was to prevent the Omega from being injured during an Alpha’s rut, since that’s the only documented time it happened as far as anyone knew and there were no reproductive advantages for it to happen. The times it didn’t happen, and those times tended to be very bad for the Alpha’s partner.

It was one of the reasons that certain Alphas claimed that Betas were unsuitable partners. Not only could they _not_ have children in the first place, but they weren’t built to be able to handle ruts. Keith could actually understand Alphas that might be worried about the wellbeing of their Beta partners, that wasn’t in question, it was just the other ones that insisted everyone fill the role they were supposed to fill: Leader – Worker – Breeder.

Of course, those same Alphas would claim that the Omegas that did respond to their partner was just ‘an Omega acting like a proper Omegas and being in their natural states – pliant for their Alphas to do as they wished’. Screw those people.

Keith, for one, was actually very glad that both times he was faced with this scenario, he reacted positively to Lance’s scent. Ruts were rough as it was, which was fine with him, but he didn’t want to deal with _tearing_. He had enough of that giving birth, thanks.

He closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly to give Lance easier access to his neck, before he caught himself and muttered, “Wait.”

Lance’s entire body tensed, and he backed away just enough to look at Keith. He scanned him as if looking for some kind of injury, and said, “What’s wrong? Something’s hurting you.”

Blinking with surprise, Keith tried to figure out what he meant, but realized that his worry was probably pushing through in his scent. His worry for his mate and their pup both.

Keith slowly shook his head. “No, I’m okay. I was just being stupid about Karina—“

Lance’s voice lowered into a growl. “Where’s my pup? What happened?” His hands slid down Keith’s arms, holding onto his biceps with more pressure than he normally would, eyes scanning his face.

It was brief, but there was such an intensity in Lance’s dilated eyes, that it almost scared Keith. He reminded himself that he could walk away from this, that Lance wasn’t going to do anything that he didn’t want no matter what. There was absolutely nothing to fear at all.

Comforted by his own thoughts, Keith still scowled at him. Was Lance really questioning his ability to take care of their daughter? “She’s fine. She’s with my mother. I just…you’re in a rut, and I have to take care of you too, and it’s the first time she’s going to be away from me for however long this lasts.”

 He actually felt some of the tension leaving Lance’s body. The Alpha slowly nodded his head before once again leaning down to trail his lips against the sensitive skin of Keith’s neck. “You’re my good Omega. The best mother for my pup.”

If Keith couldn’t smell Lance, couldn’t see the difference in his posture and personality, that sentence would have been enough for him to know that Lance was in a rut.

He ran his hand up and down Lance’s back, wanting to try and calm him down a little bit first, tackle a bit of the aggression that he knew wasn’t at all directed at him. The fact of the matter was that Keith felt oddly safe right now. Safe and completely protected, like nothing could go wrong.

That made sense though, didn’t it? This rut had been a long time coming. Stress and anger of dealing with Shiro, combined with the negative feelings of losing his mate and pup for _months_ , combined with having to save the universe, combined with the insecurities that were already there. Keith also knew that Lance was a little bit frustrated with him too, because every time things got heated, he would pull away, or someone would need something, or the baby would cry. He knew that _he_ felt frustrated about that, so an Alpha on the verge of a rut would probably have it even worse.

Bless the fact that Keith _couldn’t_ get pregnant, because he had a feeling that would absolutely be the outcome of this at any other point of time and he was _not_ dealing with that again anytime in the near future.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked, keeping his voice low and forcing himself to be calm so it would come across in his scent. That was something that he used to find really hard, because calming himself didn’t come naturally. He got lucky when he was able to calm Lance the first time. Looks like he learned a lot more taking care of his baby than he thought he had. “Pidge said something about Shiro?”

A primal growl rumbled in Lance’s chest and Keith would forever deny that it made his knees a bit weak. The Alpha’s grip on him tightened, and he knew that he had asked the absolute wrong question.

Lance didn’t say anything, but his scent soured and became almost repulsive even to Keith. It took a lot of negativity for an Alpha to smell so bad to their bonded mate. They were naturally drawn towards one another, _especially_ during heats and ruts.

This smell didn’t make Keith weak in the knees. It didn’t make his heart beat quicker, or his eyes flutter. He didn’t feel like he was being drawn into that temporary heat-like state anymore. He was actually repulsed by his mate for the first time…well…ever technically. Keith had responded negatively to Lance in the past, but given that he had been on suppressants at the time, there was no smell to associate with it. There were moments when the Alpha’s scent soured before, but not like this.

Lance must have caught onto this in his own scent, because his grip tightened a little bit, no doubt taking this as a rejection from his own mate.

Now wasn’t the time for temper tantrums or anything though. Now was the time to be calm and actually _think_ about his actions. He could do this. Hopefully. “I’m worried about _you_.” He was not going to bring up anyone else’s names anymore at this point, just in case it set him off again.

That didn’t seem to work either though. Lance didn’t respond, no doubt lost in his own angry thoughts, judging from the grumbling growl that vibrated from his chest with every harsh breath.

In theory, Keith could kick his ass to get him to listen, but in reality, that was a horrible idea. Violence was definitely not the solution to anything in a healthy relationship. That type of impulsivity wasn’t going to do him any good here.

He did have an entirely different set of instincts though that gave him an idea.

The Alpha growled warningly at him as he tugged his hair lightly, but despite everything, Keith had no fear about Lance actually hurting him.

Keith had heard the horror stories, had seen the results of it in other foster kids, had stopped it from happening to others. Alphas in ruts could be dangerous. In the middle of things, it was hard for them to push through all of their instincts and urges. Keith already knew it would very hard for him to leave once Lance really succumbed to it.

Lance was amazing though. Lance could fight those instincts better than anyone Keith had met before, though maybe that was just because Keith met some really shitty people in the past. Keith wasn’t _scared_ of him. Yes, he’d probably end up a little bruised an in pain from being handled roughly, but he could deal with that, but Lance _knew_ that. They had talked about it before. He knew exactly what he was getting into and was still there. He could just seal Lance in the room to ride out his rut on his own, and the Alpha absolutely would understand once things settled down.

Some Alphas were terrifying, but Keith had nothing to fear here.

With this in mind, the Omega tugged at Lance’s hair again, prompting the Alpha to look at him. Keith placed his hands on Lance’s cheeks to keep him in place and (hopefully) comfort him. He watched Lance’s eyes dilate as he breathed in, knowing that the Alpha’s attention was completely on him.

Keith took a deep breath, leaning in close and staring up at him with a pleading expression that came far too naturally. He really was desperate to get through to him. “Alpha.” That made the other man perk up slightly. Keith breathed in deeply a second time. “I want to help you. Am I not a good Omega?”

He absolutely _hated_ this. He didn’t mind calling Lance ‘his Alpha’ from time to time, nor did he care if Lance called him ‘his Omega’, but there was something almost dehumanizing about just relegating himself to ‘an Omega’ in this sense. It was manipulative too, since Alphas could rarely ever deny the Omega anything they wanted when they used certain tones and scents. Some people said that Omegas tended to use voices that Alphas _had_ to listen to, but that sounded like some kind of fake bullshit to Keith. If Omegas could do that, they wouldn’t be so repressed.

“Need to protect you,” Lance muttered. “You _and_ our pup.”

“Huh?” Keith breathed out, not quite understanding. He yelped with surprise as Lance suddenly backed him up so that his back was pressed tightly against the wall, his wrists held on either side of his head.

His breath hitched as he stared up into Lance’s eyes. Their height difference wasn’t even _that_ great, even their shoulders and muscle-masses weren’t that different, but he somehow felt physically small compared to the Alpha right now.

“You’re mine,” Lance stated bluntly. “They _took_ you from me. Took you and our pup. I need to protect you.”

Oh. Keith really should have seen this specifically rearing its nasty head. “I’m here. I’m safe. She’s safe.”

“You’re not.”

“Why not?” Keith probed, trying to get to the root cause of this. It didn’t surprise him that it stemmed from his and Karina’s safety. He _knew_ that Lance was beating himself up over ‘losing them’, though it was entirely out of his hands, so that protectiveness being a base for a rut made sense. 

Lance shook his head, and leaned closer. “I’m a bad Alpha. You were gone and I swore it would never let it happen again and I won’t.” He let go of one wrist, pressing his hand against Keith’s cheek before trailing it down across his pulse and collarbone, going all the way to his thundering heart.

“No, you’re the best Alpha. I _knew_ you would find us someday, that you wouldn’t stop looking, and you didn’t,” Keith insisted. Lance pressed in close to him so that they were chest to chest again.

Lance’s scent seemed to clear up a bit. Once again, Keith felt himself being drawn in, even though he wanted to tackle the other problems first.

Any thoughts of that completely slipped Keith’s mind when Lance kissed him. He felt the Alpha’s hands slip down to his hips as he parted his lips, resting there for a moment before trailing down to the back of his thighs. The surprised sound he made was muffled when Lance picked him up. Something was digging into his back as he was pressed against the wall, but Keith didn’t really care.

Lance suddenly pushed off the wall, and Keith’s grip on him tightened. Despite shaking arms, the Alpha managed to get them back to their room, tripping onto the bed. Keith was a bit winded, but was quick to recover. It was a good thing, because his mind caught back up to him. Right, he was trying to get the gross, stressed smell to go away, though it was getting better as it was.

He pushed Lance off a bit, which seemed to insult the Alpha, judging from the unhappy grumble that came from his chest. That wasn’t what Keith wanted at all, but he knew how to get that to go away, kicking off his boots, gloves, and jacket. He shoved Lance backwards to the other end of the bed, climbing up on top of him so that they were face-to-face, Keith basically laying on him.

“You’re such a good Alpha,” Keith said, running his fingers up and down Lance’s chest. “You’re helping to save the universe, and you still love us a lot and take good care of us.” He looked up at him, staring at his dilated, bright blue eyes. “What do you want to do after this is over?”

“Take you home. You and Karina. Go somewhere safe away from here,” Lance answered instantly, pressing his lips to Keith’s once again. He moved from his lips, across his jaw, and down his neck. Keith closed his eyes and tilted his head so that Lance had easier access to his skin. Lance growled slightly as he met the collar of Keith’s t-shirt. “This needs to come off.”

Keith hummed in acknowledgement, able to smell the fact that Lance was getting more and more relaxed (as much as he could when he was in a rut anyway). Whatever was bothering him was off of his mind for a moment. That was good. It meant that he wouldn’t be fuelled by frustration. They’d get Lance through this rut, and then deal with the real issues after.

He tugged his shirt off, but before Lance could get on him again, he said, “Yours too.” Keith almost laughed as the Alpha practically ripped his jacket and shirt off. It was actually really funny.

“What would we do there?” Keith asked Lance as his mate sat up under him so that they were chest to chest again. “At home?”

Apparently that was the right question to ask, because the aggression was gone, the dark, putrid smell of angry Alpha in a rut dissipating. Instead, it was replaced with the intoxicating one that drew Keith in.

An ‘oof’ of surprise escaped Keith as he was flipped over, sandwiched between the mattress and Lance, which was honestly a pretty great place to be. “Love our pup. Have more. I wanna have ten more, starting now,” he answered, running his hand across Keith’s flat stomach, glaring down at it as if it insulted him. “Miss feeling them there.” Without warning, he leaned forward, teeth sinking into Keith’s scent gland again, earning a surprised, rather embarrassing whine in response.

Though Lance still listened to Keith during his rut, he definitely got lost in his own mind that was fogged with emotions, hormones, and pheromones. It wasn’t uncommon for Alphas to struggle with stringing full sentences together, or for them to talk about having pups.

Honestly, the idea of ruts always made Keith a bit uncomfortable. It was kind of ironic that the first time he was intimate with someone was during one. They made Alphas either want to fight or fuck, and prior to Lance, any one of them that would have come towards Keith would have ended up firmly in the first category, because he was going to make them fight him. With Lance though, Keith knew that he was the only one in the second category.

He still thought it was a little weird to hear Lance talking like he was. He had done this the first time too once things heated up, talking about pups and muttering nonsense. It had honestly freaked him out just a little bit the first time, but now he just shrugged it off.

Good luck getting him pregnant when there was nothing there to fertilize. Keith – 1, Rut-Lance – 0.

While Keith was lost in his ever foggy thoughts, Lance had taken to kissing and nipping at his collarbone, leaving very obvious marks behind. He bit down on a mark that he made a few moments before, and the pain instantly drew Keith out of his haze. “Ow! Lance! Stop!” He pushed him off, hand going to his collarbone and rubbing. He was okay with being handled roughly, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to be hurt.

Instantly, the Alpha cringed. In his right mind, Lance would have scrambled off of him dramatically, flopping away to sit on the opposite side of the bed. Now, while he leaned away a bit, he still loomed over him.  His dialated blue eyes scanned the area, before he took Keith’s hand into his own, pressing it down to the bed. “You’ll always tell me if it hurts too much, right? And you know I’ll stop?”

Keith’s annoyance faded away. “Yeah. Just…avoid bruises you already made?”

“Deal.” Lance kissed him much more gently. “I ruined the mood.”

“Eh, that’s fine. You were going on about babies and, you know, I can’t get pregnant right now, and even when I can, it won’t be happening for a while.”

Instead of putting him in a bad mood like Keith was kind of worried the reminder might, Lance froze and his scent twisted with interest. He leaned away so that they were face-to-face again so he could see him. “A while?” He brushed their noses together. “You mean you’d be down for more?”

“We’ll see,” Keith replied, because that was the only honest answer he could give. “Not anytime soon.” He was _not_ bringing _another_ child into this war. “I mean it. I will legitimately pitch you out of the airlock.” Red would get him, but Keith’s point would be made.

Lance grimaced at that, taking the threat seriously, as he should. Keith was being entirely serious.

Still, the Alpha was all kinds of undeterred, pressing his lips against his almost sweetly. That didn’t last for long, turning it into almost bruising. Keith parted his lips again, something Lance instantly took advantage of.

“Calm down,” Keith grunted between sloppy kisses. “Lots of time.”

“We don’t,” Lance replied. Lance muttered, and okay, Keith had to admit that he was surprised that the Alpha had lasted so long without actually doing anything more than making out and light touches. He could see it and he could smell it though, rational Lance was out of the building. Keith could quite literally feel it. “And I don’t wanna calm down.” Keith could feel one of his hands fiddling with his jeans. “Wanna make you scream and beg.”

Oh hell. Keith groaned at that, his own rational mind going out the window. He nodded his head in response, meeting Lance in a rough kiss, his hand sliding over the Alpha’s back, nails digging into his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So THIS is the longest chapter in this story. Why? Because the end part about the rut was originally in the next chapter but I realized it was super awkward in there and it made the next chapter seem super rushed. You'll understand when we get there! 
> 
> I asked before, but I'm still curious if anyone has any kind of AU or story suggestions? I have a few ideas but none I'm latching onto that I did this, and I'm looking for inspiration. I don't want to be the person that ONLY writes ABO, though that doesn't mean I WON'T write other things like this!


	26. The Breakdown

Let it be known that, despite how much other Alphas went on and on about how awesome their ruts were, Lance _hated_ them. Before, when they happened, he would lock himself in his room so that he wouldn’t freak any Omegas out, and kind of just suffer through it. So many Alphas used it as an excuse to get laid, to use any Omega that they wanted or felt like they had the right to. It was disgusting.

Now he had a mate who happened to be an Omega and was very much equipped to deal with ruts (unlike Betas, who tended to get injured), and who had no problem telling him when to stop or what to do. Some Omegas would just lay there, let their Alpha just wear themselves out, but not Keith. The thought of Keith being any kind of submissive like that was actually kind of hilarious, because no way in hell did it happen.

He always listened, but it still made Lance feel gross, like he was _using_ his mate, who was not just there to screw around with (despite what so many other Alphas said). Lance knew that Keith had a high tolerance for pain, and a tendency to not take his own well-being into account (though Lance hadn’t really seen that since Keith became pregnant and had Karina), that sometimes he _would_ just deal with it

“Don’t you dare start to make it seem like I’m so type of _victim_ ,” Keith warned him earlier after his rut broke and he started apologizing, because Keith’s pale skin was adorned with marks from lips, teeth, and fingers and hands that had been holding onto him just a little too tightly. “I made my choices. You didn’t _make_ me do anything. If I wanted to, I could have locked you in here by yourself. I didn’t though because _I_ didn’t want to. Deal with it.”

And that, okay yes, that was fair. It was like when Lance stayed with Keith during a heat. Keith felt gross during those, Lance felt gross during ruts. Jesus, they really were made for one another, weren’t they? That was some kind of clichéd cosmic soulmate shit right there.

The thought made Lance chuckle a bit, despite the fact that he felt like falling into a pile of aching bones at the bottom of the shower. 

The Alpha felt so tired and sore, and was only now feeling clean. He was sure he had been in the shower for about an hour at that point.

There was still so much left to do now that they managed to work his rut out of his system. He felt exhausted thinking about it. He hadn’t even told Keith yet what set the whole thing off. A part of him was still hoping that it was all just a terrible nightmare, but he knew that it wasn’t.

His rut had already given _him_ too much time to figure out what to do about the fact that Lance _knew_.

Turning off the water, Lance dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist. He stumbled down the hall of their little suite to the bedroom, a purr rumbling from his chest at how clean it smelled. The bedding had been changed, any other scent removed from the room.

Keith was sprawled on the bed in his jeans and black t-shirt, face buried into the pillow under him. He looked over as Lance came into the room, though he didn’t move beyond that. If Lance was sore, it was probably _nothing_ compared to what the Omega was feeling right now.

“I’m surprised you haven’t left to find Karina,” Lance said, going through the drawer to find clean clothes. He heard shifting behind him, and then a grunt of pain.

He immediately looked at Keith, who was pushing himself up. Lance caught sight of the marks he left on the Omega’s hip before Keith tugged down his shirt again. He turned his legs so that they were off of the bed and said, “I want to, but you know why I haven’t.”

That was true. He did know why. Lance sighed and found his clothes, dropping his towel to tug them on. Keith waited, surprisingly patient, while he got his clothes on and then sat beside him, taking his hands into his own.

Lance stared at Keith’s hands, eyes trailing over the contrast between his dark gloves and pale skin. “I don’t think—no…I _know_ now. I’ve suspected but I know. I have no proof, nothing real, but I’m so sure…”

“Lance,” Keith spoke, his voice calm and stern. “I’m going to listen to you. You can tell me anything.”

He took a deep breath and nodded his head. That was right. Sometime after their rivalry had faded into friendship, it became obvious that Keith listened to _him_ , even more than he did with Shiro in the past couple years. “Shiro’s not Shiro.”

He waited for Keith to pull his hands away, to look at him with disgust, wanting to exclaim that it was a lie, that Shiro was his brother and he was the one that found him, so how could he not be Shiro?

Instead, Keith looked a little bit confused, but not doubtful. He tilted his head slightly, almost looking unsure of how to word what he wanted to say. “I don’t think I understand.” He grimaced a bit and shook his head. “No, I understand, I just…tell me what you’re thinking.”

That wasn’t a dismissal, not like when he proposed the idea that something was wrong with Shiro to literally everyone else lately. He hadn’t wanted to bother Keith with it. His Omega was readjusting to life on the castleship again, and he was barely without the baby too.  Not to mention he was Shiro’s brother, and that was a kind of stress that Lance didn’t want to bring him.

Maybe a small part of him was scared. Scared that Keith would dismiss him, would insist that he was insane, because Keith had always been blindly loyal to Shiro. Lance realized that it was a stupid worry. Keith was his _mate_ , and even if he didn’t fly a lion right now, he was a fellow Paladin. He had listened to Lance when he was the Black Paladin, something that Shiro didn’t do and now he was sure he knew why.

So Lance launched into a rant, wanting to get it all out at once before he second guessed himself. “I don’t know who or what that _thing_ is parading around as Shiro, but it’s _not_ him. It’s _not_. I think it thinks it’s Shiro though, but he’s all wrong and I don’t like it. Don’t want him near my family. No one believes me though. No one. Hunk, Pidge, Allura and say I’m stressed or I need sleep but they all know something’s off with Shiro it’s just…it’s not trauma. It’s not stress. I don’t know…whatever came back isn’t Shiro. We never found him again. He wouldn’t put the rest of the team down. Wouldn’t shrug aside our ideas. He wouldn’t put us in danger. I told him that. I told him so.”

He looked up at Keith again, squeezing his hand a little more firmly. “It was probably him that fucked the computer up when you were taken. The worst part is I don’t think he even knows and I don’t have any proof! I mean – a part of him definitely knows, but not actively. It’s like something’s controlling him that is well aware of what it’s doing, but then he himself doesn’t know, you know?”

Keith stared at him, brow furrowing as he tried to keep up with Lance’s words. He slowly removed his hands from his grip, instead placing one on his shoulder and one on his cheek. “You’re sure? This is what your gut’s telling you.”

Lance stared at him and nodded his head. “I’m sure. I just…I saw something and I’m not sure if it was right but it was…it’s like his eyes are cameras or something. I saw them – I heard it. They were glowing and…I mean I was tired but you know—”

“I believe you,” Keith assured him, expression becoming stern.

“You do?” Lance couldn’t stop his voice from coming out almost small.

“You haven’t led me wrong in a long time,” the Omega said with a nod.

“I don’t know about that,” he replied with a shrug.

“No,” Keith spoke firmly. “No more of that. I know you can’t help it, invasive thoughts happen, but you need to stop believing that you’re…less than what you are.” He took a deep breath. “I thought I knew who I was for a long time, but then everything changed and I struggled with it. I thought there had to be something wrong with me because no one ever stayed, but I get it now. It’s not me. I know who I am. I’m human. I’m Galra. I’m a Paladin. I’m an honorary Blade. I’m an Omega. I’m a mother. I’m a mate. I’m a fighter. I know who I am, and I know you you are too. You’re a normal person and that makes you amazing. You’re our sharpshooter. You’re determined and strong. You’re the Blue Paladin. You’re the Red Paladin. You’re a leader. You’re a goofball and that’s a great thing. You’re a people-person. You’re a great son. You’re an amazing brother and uncle. You’re an Alpha. You’re Karina’s father. You’re my mate…my partner. You’re Lance, good and bad, and you belong here. Everyone else is just too stupid to see it right now.”

Lance closed his eyes and lowered his face so that Keith couldn’t see his tears. The Omega’s arms went around him, drawing him close. He pressed his head to Keith’s shoulder.  

“Shiro’s not Shiro, meaning we never found him again,” Keith said after a moment from somewhere above Lance, running his hand up and down his back. “And he’s in the Black Lion, around the rest of our pack. He’s around our pup.” He paused. “I need to see her first.” Lance pulled back and stared up at him, meeting his eyes. “I need to,” Keith repeated.

“We’ll go see her,” Lance said with a nod, because honestly, he wanted to see their pup too. Whatever was about to happen was bound to be messy. “We’ll go see her and figure out everything else.” He looked down. “Maybe they’ll believe you.”

“We’ll need proof,” Keith said. “You know Pidge and Hunk. Pidge needs evidence. Hunk will try to look on the bright side since Shiro’s not currently on his shit list. If Allura won’t believe you, she sure as hell won’t believe me.” He paused. “We can try to talk to them first though. At least Pidge and Hunk.”

“Alright. We talk to them, then we get proof first,” Lance said with a nod of his head. “Alright. We can do this.”

Keith tried to stand up all the way, but ended up grimacing and falling back down. He grimaced and said, “Shit.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” the Alpha said, reaching down to help Keith up, rubbing his hand up and down his back. For the most part, he hated the fact that _he_ was the reason Keith was hurting, but the smallest part of him was also a tiny bit smug. He couldn’t help it.

The Omega shook his head. “Don’t apologize. It happens.” He caught sight of himself in the mirror and his face twisted, fingers brushing against the marks on his neck. “I can’t go out like this, and none of my shirts or jacket covers this. Not to mention _no one_ is going to take me seriously if I go out there with a thousand hickies.”

Lance snorted at that, because it was true. Hunk and Pidge would just tease them mercilessly. Keith had been smart, leaving marks below where Lance’s collar sat, and his hood covered up the rest. That part he didn’t really feel guilty about, because it wasn’t painful, and he was always proud for people to see that Keith was _his_ Omega.

He could understand where he was coming from though, and went through his clothes to tug out a blue hoodie. “This should cover things up?”

Keith took the shirt into his hands, staring at it with interest. “I don’t remember this one. Did you get it when I was gone?”

“Pidge figured out how to get the replicator to make them. We went to a world that was basically a frozen ice-ball and all of us wanted thicker sweaters afterwards.” Lance watched with amusement as Keith pulled it on. It covered everything that he had been worried about, but since it was already huge on Lance, the sleeves went beyond his hands, and draped down around his thighs.

It was actually a bit astounding to see how much they had all changed since coming into space, even just over the past year. For the longest time, he and Keith were basically the same height, with Lance just slightly taller and the tiniest bit broader (Lance had noticed, okay). Typically, Alphas tended to bulk up a little more in their early 20s, but not always. Lance was one of those ones, and while he was visibly bigger than Keith, it wasn’t _really_ by that much. Somehow though, his clothes always seemed so big on him.

Maybe it was because Keith tended to wear more fitted things.  Either way, Lance suddenly got the mental image of Keith wearing only the hoodie around, and almost cooed at how adorable it was. Hopefully that was something that could actually happen as soon as this mess was cleaned up.

Keith stood up and grimaced. Lance frowned a bit as he pulled his own jacket on. “You sure you’re good? We can wait just a little bit longer.”

“It’s nothing I can’t live with,” Keith noted, shifting from foot to foot. “Come on, I want to go get our baby.”

“This is the longest you’ve left her anywhere, isn’t it?” Lance asked as they walked side-by-side out of the room. Now that he was looking for it, he could definitely tell that the Omega was a little antsy. Not that he could blame him at all. Keith believed him that Shiro wasn’t Shiro, and being away from their baby with a not-Shiro around was probably bothering him a lot on top of just being away from the baby for a long period of time.

Keith nodded his head. He bit his lip and looked up. “What if she doesn’t know who I am? What if she hates me?”

“Keith, no.” Lance stopped walking, putting his hands on Keith’s shoulders, mindful of the marks that were there. “This was a day—“

“Nearly two!” Keith interrupted.

“…Nearly two days,” Lance corrected. “Parents can go on vacations without their kids, or spend days or weekends away from them. No way she’d hate you. Not to mention she’s an infant. If anything, she might’ve missed you and will be super excited to see you again.”

Keith shrugged a bit, stepping out of Lance’s arms and heading down the hall. The Alpha hurried after him, his stomach growling as they headed towards the kitchen, where hopefully everyone would be.

The Omega stopped in the entrance, and before Lance could ask what was wrong, he put a finger to his lips and pointed. Lance peered over his shoulder into the room.

Pidge was sitting at the table beside Krolia, Karina propped up on the table in front of them. The baby’s lips were pressed into a pout, her brow furrowed.  
  
She looked so much like Keith in that moment that it took everything Lance had not to laugh. Despite the fact that her skin was brown and her eyes were dark blue, he had definitely gotten his wish for their child to take after his mate more than him.

“Karina,” Pidge said, her voice higher than normal. “Can you said Pidge? Piiiidge.”  
  
“She’s too young to talk,” Hunk told her from where he was looking at two new containers of some kind of bean.

“She’s Lance’s kid,” Pidge pointed out. “She’s going to be a talkative little thing.”

“Or she could be more quiet like Keith.”

Pidge thought about that for a moment before looking at Karina again. The baby blinked back at her from where she was sitting up on her own, still scowling. “Well, babies her age aren’t really supposed to be able to do that, so maybe she’ll end up talking soon.”

“Galra kits tend to communicate through body language first,” Krolia spoke up, looking at Karina with pure adoration. “It’s why their muscles are much more developed at birth than humans. Keith was like that as well. Speech varies wildly though. So perhaps she could speak soon, or maybe it’ll be months or years.”

Pidge nodded her head and held her hand up to Karina, who batted at them almost like a little kitten. “You know, it’s really hard to believe that she’s here. If you would have told me on day one that Lance and Keith were going to end up having a kid, I would have laughed my ass off.”

Keith pouted slightly at that, and Krolia suddenly looked at them. She opened her mouth to say something, but Lance quickly shook his head. He wanted to hear wherever Pidge was going with that.

Krolia raised an eyebrow in an expression that her son had obviously inherited, but turned her attention back to Pidge and Hunk so that no one would notice her staring at them.

 “I would have been confused,” Hunk admitted, “but mostly because I thought Keith was an Alpha too. But if I would have known Keith was an Omega, I think I would have seen it coming.”  
  
“Really?” Krolia asked, sounding almost amused.

“Well, I could have seen a scenario where they weren’t mates but had her anyway…though I suppose that if it did happen like that, Keith would have gone AWOL.” Hunk shook his head. His face then exploded with colour when he remembered who he was speaking to. “No that’s not what I meant! I didn’t—they wouldn’t have…oh my god!” Hunk hid his face in his hands.

Pidge laughed at him, and Lance took a step forward, winking at Keith and muttering, “Wait here for a second.” Keith nodded his head and watched with interest.

“Thanks buddy,” Lance said sarcastically, causing both Hunk and Pidge to start. “Not sure I appreciate your lack of confidence in my self-control.”

“You’re alive!” Pidge exclaimed.

“Are you feeling better now?” Hunk asked him.

“Much better!” Lance said, looking towards his daughter. Warmth rushed through him when he met her gaze, lips ticking up to a smile. God he loved this little person with everything that he had.

Karina’s grumpy face vanish, and she cooed happily, a hand raising up to Lance.

“Is that why you were so grumpy?” Pidge asked, her tone switching to a typical ‘baby tone’. “You missed your dad?”

Lance swooped down. “There’s my girl!” He snatched her out of Pidge’s arms and swung her around, earning a happy laugh. He brought her close, and she nuzzled her face into his neck.

“Where’s—“ Hunk’s question was cut off as Karina suddenly let out a loud, happy shriek that had Lance’s ears ringing. Her hands and legs flailed wildly as she stared over Lance’s shoulder.

Lance laughed. “Alright, alright. I get it.”

Karina latched onto Keith the second that she was handed to him. Her fingers twisted into his shirt as she nuzzled her way into the crook of his neck, tiny coos escaping her. Despite what Krolia said, she was actually very vocal.

“Well, look at that,” Pidge spoke up, “she missed her mom the most.”  
  
“Of course she did,” Lance insisted, not sounding at all insulted, but rather smug about the whole thing. He could smell the contentedness radiating off of both mother and child. Sure, he was the tiniest bit jealous that Karina didn’t have quite the same reaction to him, but he _knew_ his baby loved him too. Keith had been so worried earlier, so having their pup react much more strongly to him would only be a good thing to soothe his fears.

He glanced over his shoulder towards the others. Hunk wasn’t trying to hide his cooing at the sight, while Pidge seemed to be trying to keep a straight face. Krolia though, she was interesting to look at. She looked so fond and proud, that Lance couldn’t help but feel the same.

It was hard to believe that they could all be in danger right now.

“Guys,” Lance spoke up. “There’s something really important we need to talk about.”  
  
“Oh god, please tell me Keith isn’t pregnant again,” Hunk blurted out.

“Fuck no,” Keith blurted out, causing Pidge to snort loudly. “Literally impossible right now. Besides, it’s…it’s way more important than that.”

Even Karina went silent at that. Hunk opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as a loud bang echoed through the castle, and the entire thing shuddered.

Lance lunged out on instinct, wrapping his arms around Keith, who held Karina tightly, keeping one hand protectively on her head. The alarms started blaring, causing the baby to start crying. Keith shifted his hand, gently pressing her head so that one ear was leaning against his shoulder, the other covered by his hand.

Normally, Keith would probably tell Lance that he was okay, that he could stand on his own, but he shifted closer to him instead. In fact, he looked almost afraid.

Then Lance was taken back to a time when Keith’s stomach was still very round, their baby girl almost ready to come into the world. Another time when the castle shook and spun, and when the dust cleared, Keith was gone.

From the looks of it, Pidge and Hunk had caught onto the similarities as well.

Krolia moved closer to them, violet eyes shining with obvious worry. That was right. This wasn’t exactly like last time, because Keith’s mother was here with them. Lance got the feeling that she would _die_ before she let anything happen to her son or granddaughter. Oddly enough, that was very comforting.

“We stick together,” Hunk said. They nodded and made their way to the command deck. Keith continued to try and cover the baby’s ears while Lance kept a hand between his shoulder blades. Pidge and Hunk walked on either side of them, while Krolia stayed a couple paces behind despite her longer legs.

It was like having a protective detail on them.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked immediately as they got onto the command deck. Allura, Coran, Lotor and Shiro were all there.

“Those ships were a part of Quartermaster Janka’s fleet,” Lotor noted, somehow keeping his voice calm and composed. “His corpse was found on Feyiv, though no one was sure what happened to him.”

“It would appear that someone stole his fleet and murdered him,” Allura said, her voice sharp and angry. “How did they sneak up on us?”

“It must have been a glitch in the system,” Shiro noted, staring at the viewing screens, his back to everyone else. “We never did figure out what happened the first time.”  
  
“But we cleared it out,” Pidge said slowly. “All the programming that someone might have had access to before. Matt and I personally cleared it out with Coran’s help. We got dad to look at it too when he was here.” Her eyes turned towards Lance and Keith, a sudden, terrified comprehension in them. “It would have had to have been altered _again_ by someone with access. That’s not a glitch. That’s on purpose.”

Shiro was silent, and then there was another explosion that shook the ship. “We’ll deal with that later,” he decided. “Everyone, get to your lions!” He turned, heading towards the door.

“No,” Lance said, bristling a bit as the man turned to face him. Keith tensed slightly as Lance moved back towards him more, as if keeping himself between Shiro and his family. “This is _exactly_ what happened last time.”

“Lance,” there was something biting about Shiro’s voice, “The mission is more important!”

“What mission?” the Red Paladin growled. “Someone screwed with our computers and they snuck up on us again. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Let’s just wormhole away!”

“I am the leader of Voltron! Keith can wait here for us to come back! Get to your lions!”

Hunk stared with wide eyes between Shiro and Lance, looking unsure. Allura took a step forward and said, “It’s not possible to generate a wormhole at the moment. The castle’s power reserves are low – I haven’t had the chance to recharge them, and there are simply too many fighters coming out way. We won’t have enough time.” She looked at Coran. “Make sure the shields are at full power.”

Lance growled, a low, deep sound. He hated this so much. Keith moved to his side, and his growling abruptly stopped as the Omega put a hand on his arm. Keith didn’t say anything, but hi slips were pressed into a firm line, and he shook his head.

“I’ll be here with Keith and Coran,” Krolia spoke up, coming to Keith’s other side.

“Right! And I’ll seal the command deck right away! No one’s getting in or out of here easily!” Coran assured them all, though Lance knew that his eyes were primarily on him.

Keith’s hand slid to Lance’s back, pressing him forward, and the Alpha looked down at him. When the Omega spoke, his voice was very quiet, “Go, someone needs to keep an eye on him.”

_Him_ , as in the real problem there. The problem they needed to deal with sooner rather than later.

Lance took a deep breath. He knew that Keith was right, but he didn’t like this. “I know you can take care of yourself, but please, stay here and don’t do anything stupid.”

Keith snorted and kissed him quickly. “You’re one to talk.” He pushed him towards the door.

Lance looked back over his shoulder at his family briefly before the door closed behind him.

…

Coran checked and double-decked to make sure that they were safe on the command deck. He was fairly confident that the only way something was coming in was if they blew up the ship itself.

The Paladins had all left, the Red Lion leaving last, and were already engaging the enemy ship. It left him in command with Keith, Krolia, Lotor, and baby Karina. He felt better with them all there, even though he didn’t entirely trust Lotor. What he did trust were Lotor’s instincts. The person most likely to bring harm to the baby amongst them, biologically speaking, was Coran himself.  
  
It was odd to think about.

“Shiro is not at all what you described,” Krolia said. Coran looked over his shoulder to see her standing beside Keith.

“He seems quite different from the calm, collected Paladin that led the team that bested my father,” Lotor agreed. “Though I never met him personally prior to that, it’s quite obvious that relation between some Paladins are strained. That can’t be good for Voltron.”  
  
“No, it’s not,” Coran agreed. “Unfortunately, as strong as some people are, being captive in the Galra Empire twice can do things to their minds.”

Lotor’s indigo eyes looked at Coran thoughtfully. “I do not recall him being captured a second time. Odd.”

Keith made a sound that attracted all of their attention. He was staring down at the baby, almost like he was drawing strength from her, before he said, “Lotor, what do you know about…mind control? Or cloning? Or something like that.”

Coran looked from one to the other, and even Lotor seemed surprised by the question. He hid that before saying, “Such things are possible, but were highly controlled within the Empire. Mind control has been used in many ways over the thousands of years that my father reigned. Cloning less so. As far as I know, any and all programs involving either of those things ended. Though I never quite knew why.”

“That’s not exactly true,” Krolia said slowly, drawing their attention. “It’s just rumours we’ve heard, but there have been stories about world leaders being…replaced with something that wasn’t quite them. A clone. Ulaz was looking into it.”

That name clearly meant nothing to Lotor, but Coran couldn’t stop from gasping as Keith stared with surprise. “That was Ulaz’s mission?” Coran asked.

“Yes,” Krolia said with a nod. “He was working his way up in the ranks with his medical knowledge. From what we knew, his mission was quite successful until it failed for some reason.”

“To have something that classified, my father would have been directly in charge of it or—“ Lotor stopped for a moment, looking out at the ships flying around, “—Or the witch.”

“Haggar was the one working on Shiro, and she makes Robeasts all the time playing with genetics,” Keith pointed out. “Ulaz failed his mission because he broke Shiro out.” He paused. “I don’t think—“ He was cut off by a collision to the barrier, teetering sideways and stumbling off of the step that he was on. He barely had time to actually fall though, since Lotor managed to reach out and grab him. Keith breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded his head in thanks, which the Emperor silently returned.

“What was that?” Krolia asked, looking up at the viewing screens.

Coran stared and narrowed his eyes. “That’s just like your ship.” He turned his attention towards Lotor.

“It’s one of the Sincline ships. I have another one here, as well as the unused ore from the comet I planned on using to create a third.” He watched it maneuver around the lions. “If I’m correct, that would be your sister flying it. She was always my best pilot.”

“Sister?” Coran repeated, surprised by this revelation. Both Keith and Krolia looked towards the viewing screen with surprise on their faces. He felt like he had missed out on something recently. He really needed to catch up with his Paladins.

“I have my ship,” Lotor said, straightening his shoulders. “I’ll aid in the lions.”

“Wait,” Keith said suddenly, eyes following the ship thoughtfully. “Is there a way to, I don’t know, get in contact with that ship?”

Lotor eyed him and nodded his head. He looked to Coran. “If I may?”

Coran didn’t like it, but he let Lotor step up to the console. His fingers through over the buttons, a picture of the ship appearing. It took a few moments, but then he stood back and nodded his head. “Press the center button to start the video feed. Wait until I get out there. It’ll be a good distraction.”

They waited until Lotor was gone, Coran standing nervously with Keith, his mother, and his daughter. Keith shifted Karina in his arms, and something popped into the Altean’s mind. “Oh! Keith! I meant to give this to you. I thought you could use it.” He fished in his pockets, pulling out a large piece of plum fabric.

“Uh, thanks?” Keith asked, though he clearly didn’t know what it is.

“It goes around your shoulder, and you can place Karina in it. It keeps her secure by your chest, but also gives your arms a break and allows you to use them. They were all the rage in Altea.”

“Oh!” His eyes lit up and he looked at Krolia, who silently stepped forward. The two of them maneuvered the fabric over Keith, tucking Karina into it snugly. The baby, finally calm instead of twitching agitatedly, nuzzled into the black fabric of Keith’s shirt contentedly. “Thanks Coran!”  
  
“it’s not at all a problem. I apologize for not giving it to you sooner.” A beeping got his attention, and he looked at the screen. “Lotor has left. Shall we contact Sincline II?”

Keith nodded his head, lips pressed together firmly. “Let’s talk to my sister.”

Coran pressed the button, and they all waited with baited breath to see if the transmission would go through. Finally, it connected and the video feed popped up.

Whatever Coran was expecting, it wasn’t a slightly familiar figure with pale blue skin and dark blue hair. He recognized her as one of Lotor’s former generals, and he absolutely could see the similarities she had with Krolia, despite her different colour scheme. That wasn’t uncommon with Galra, especially those that were only part Galra.

Because Coran could see the likeness between Keith and Krolia, and he could see the likelness between this Galra and Krolia, he could easily tell that she and Keith looked quite a bit alike despite their differences.

She seemed rightly startled, but covered it up quickly. “Wha—how did you get this channel?”

Keith launched into his spiel almost immediately. “Axca, you don’t know me, but we’ve met before. My name’s Keith and I’m your twin brother.” He ran one hand over Karina’s form that was safely nestled into the harness, though still visible. “This is my daughter.”

Suddenly, Coran understood. He was trying to appeal to her Galra side, the side that refused to harm a Bearer and their newborn (meaning she must have been a Giver). That instinct tended to be even stronger with family members. It was smart.

Axca stared at him before turning her attention to flying, and then looking back at him. “What do you want?”  
  
“Turn around. Stop follow _Haggar_ ,” Keith spat out her name as if it was the most vile word he ever heard.

When she didn’t respond, Krolia moved into view of the camera. “Axca! Are you really going to become the same ‘brutes’ that you tried to fight all along? Are you really going to help hurt your brother, a Bearer, and his brand new kit?” She stared at her. “Have you fallen so low?”

She looked at Krolia with surprise, then at Keith, before staring directly at Karina. Axca pressed her lips together into a thin line before hitting a button that finally managed to stop the transmission.

“I hope that worked,” Keith muttered. “Or at least gave everyone a little bit more time to fight off the fleet.” He shook his head. “This is the last thing we need right now, not with what’s happening here.”  
  
“And what is happening here, exactly?” Coran asked him. Between their talk about Shiro, clones, brain washing, and surprise siblings, he was a little lost.

Keith looked at him for a moment before an unwavering determination passed over his features. “There’s something very wrong with Shiro, Coran. Lance sees it, and I believe him.”

“Is this about his theory that—“  
  
“It’s _not_ a theory. He’s right,” Keith interrupted. “I think…I think what you mentioned, Mom, is what happened to him. I think he’s a clone.”

“Ah!” Karina cried out, almost like she was agreeing with Keith. “Ma!”

Keith blinked with surprised and looked down at her, a little half-smile on his face before looking back at Coran. “I know everyone needs proof though. I know that. So watch him. You’ll see too.”

“Very well.” That was something he could agree to. He had noticed something bothering Shiro over the past months, but really, Lance was probably overreacting. He loved the boy, but his imagination tended to go a bit wild.

Suddenly there was a loud of screaming and yelling over the comms. Keith flinched, and Coran spun back around to stare at the screens.

“Is someone boarding the castle?” Krolia asked, her voice dark and stern.

“No. I…oh no.” Coran felt his stomach drop.

“Coran!” Allura’s voice came over the comms. “Get a pod ready immediately!”

“What’s going on?” Keith demanded, stepping up beside him.

“Red was hit,” Pidge answered before someone could say that it was okay. “Badly. Oh god there are pieces of him floating around! What would cause that much damage to a lion of Voltron?”

“Red,” Coran said quickly. “They mean pieces of _Red_ floating around, Keith.” He had seen the way the young man tensed, the way the little girl in his arms started to fuss, no doubt from Keith’s scent (he was learning a thing or two about humans).

“I’ve got Red!” Hunk called out. “I’m bringing them back to the main hangar!”

Coran went through the motions of unsealing the bridge, and he was about to run, but turned around to look at Keith. “You know how to program the pods for an emergency, yes?”

“Yes.”  
  
“Right. Go to the med bay and do that.” He saw Keith about to protest, but before he could explain anything, the young man nodded. Krolia said nothing, she simply mimicked Keith’s nod and hurried away with him.

Coran took a deep breath and rushed down to the main hangar in record timing. His stomach dropped when Yellow lowered Red down. He couldn’t remember a time he had seen one of the lions looks _this_ bad before.  
  
What had happened out there?

Coran ran into the wreckage before Hunk could even get out of Yellow, but that was probably for the best. He could _already_ tell that this was a bad one.

Lance was slumped over the controls unmoving. Coran scanned him quickly, grimacing at the stats that appeared in front of him. This was _bad_.

“Hunk!” he called out, hearing the footsteps. “I need you to grab the emergency stretcher that’s in the back of Red! Go!” He saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye.

“Ran?” A weak voice muttered, surprising him. Lance’s eyes blinked open and closed.

“Lance, my boy, don’t you worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“No,” he replied before coughing, splatters of blood dotting his armour. “Keith?”

“Keith’s in the med bay, prepping a pod for you.” Hunk appeared at his side. “So you hold on until we get out in one and fix you up, okay? You have a strapping young man and a beautiful baby waiting for you.”

“Black,” Lance muttered, eyes closing. “Black.”

“Hurry, let’s get him onto the stretcher.” Coran it a couple buttons and it spread out. They carefully put Lance onto it, and then made their way out of Red.

Pidge whimpered as they hurried by, and Allura was staring with horror. Lotor had arrived at the same time from the fight, standing  close to the Princess. Shiro watched all of them blankly, and Coran couldn’t help but shiver.  
  
If what Keith had said was right…

He couldn’t think about that right now.

They got to the med bay in record breaking time. Keith was cradling Karina, staring at them with obvious alarm. Coran was relieved to see that Krolia already had a square for one of the pod suits in her hands. It would definitely help Lance to be put in that.

“We need to take off his armour.”

Hunk and Krolia both helped him quickly tear the ruined armour from his body. Coran focused on cutting through the under armour to get to his skin. He then took the square from Krolia, pressing it to Lance’s skin, and watching as the white suit spread over his body under the rest of his clothes. It would help keep pressure on all the wounds while they got rid of all the other clothes.

Coran grimaced at Karina’s whimpered.  With Hunk’s help, he maneuvered Lance into one of the pods, breathing deeply when it closed around him. He grimaced as the pod scanned Lance and brought his stats to the screen. They weren’t very good. If they had gotten there even just a little bit later…

“What happened?” Keith broke through the silence. Instead of shaky like Coran expected, his voice was angry and harsh. The Altean looked at him, and his expression matched his tone. From the look on Hunk’s face, he must have smelled as mad as he looked.

“I don’t know,” Hunk said with a shake of his head. “We were out there and the ship was moving so fast, and then there were other ships around so I guess Haggar or Sendek has some kind of support. Then the comet ship showed but, but it kind of stopped doing things when Lotor showed up too. Then suddenly something hit Red and I don’t know what happened. Maybe Shiro might know more.”

The silence that fell over them was tense. Krolia straightened her shoulders, like a large, looming body guard behind her son and granddaughter. Keith’s glare became harsher if that were possible.

Coran didn’t know if it was a blessing or not, but Karina chose that moment to start crying. Despite his obvious anger, Keith turned his attention to his distressed child. That was good. There was nothing he could do for Lance at the moment, but surly taking care of the baby would keep his mind occupied enough to not get lost in his anger like he had before.

He was sure that nothing good would come from it.

…

A movement. Lance was so bad off that he had to be in the pod for an entire movement. Luckily, the castle itself wasn’t damaged in any way, and they were able to hide. It was strange though that most of Sendek and Haggar’s fleet had vanished after Red was hit.

Or maybe it wasn’t, given what they had discovered.

Lotor left the day before. To everyone he said that he was looking for leads on what Haggar and Sendek were up to, but to Keith he mentioned specifically looking to see if Krolia’s theory was correct.

It had been a very long movement, and it wasn’t even over yet.

Keith sat on the ground, a squishy matt splayed out under him. Karina laid on her back, little legs kicking as she gnawed on a little chewy ring. Apparently part of the reason she had been crying and whining so much just before Lance’s rut, and while she was with Krolia, was because she had started teething, and her gums were bothering her. This was actually wasn’t uncommon with human infants, since she was a little over four months old now, but what was different was how sharp these little teeth were.  
  
Keith had been worried about that, but Krolia assured him that it was common for Galra kits to have sharper teeth before losing them for their adult teeth. Apparently Keith himself had fangs just like that when he was younger. He knew his teeth were a bit sharper than normal now, but this was just odd to see. 

Hunk took it upon himself to immediately make a heavy duty teething toy for Karina, using it as a distraction from his worry. That probably meant that they should test her out with mashed up food soon. Or maybe a full steak from the look of her teeth. Note to self, do not let the baby chew on fingers. At the same time it was kind of comforting, knowing that she had that tiny bit of protection herself.

He smiled at her, and she gurgled and stared back at him with her big blue eyes.

Turning his attention upwards, Keith looked at Lance’s still form. He looked so eerily pale in the healing pod. The Omega hated it, something inside of him growling angrily.

_“I—I was distracted, there was so much happening.”_

_“I was too far away.”_

_“There were so many smaller ships.”_

_“It must have been the generals using the comet ship.”_

Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them, once again staring down at his baby. She gazed back at him, eyes so trusting and happy.

_“It looks like another lion attacked Red, but that’s impossible. However, the comet ship is made out of the same thing as the lions. They could have a similar power.”  
_ __  
“That’s not possible,” Lotor had insisted. “I made the ships powerful, but I was never able to quite get to Voltron’s strength. Unless the witch found a way to alter it more.”

He was so tired of letting his family down.

_“Keith?” Hunk looked at him after everyone else had left. “He was asking for you just before he passed out again and he kept saying something about Black. I don’t know what. Maybe getting knocked around a bit made him think you were still the Black Paladin? I don’t know.”_

Carefully, Keith lifted Karina into his arms and stood up again. He looked back towards Lance’s pod, eyes narrowing. Everyone was suspicious of everything right now. Though Keith hadn’t approached Allura with his theory – Lance’s theory – she probably knew that something was up. Especially after Lotor had left. As soon as the Galran Emperor was gone, Shiro had suggested that perhaps Lotor was sneaking Allura’s alchemy lessons to Haggar.

Shiro had been Lotor’s biggest supporter. It didn’t make sense. Keith was still wary around the half-Altean, but he _knew_ this wasn’t Lotor’s fault. He knew it with everything he was. Shiro’s switch of stance on Lotor didn’t at all make sense, and he was not going to let Lance’s suspicions and his own instincts be ignored any longer. He was done letting people down.

He had proof of their theory in the form of his mother, but that wasn’t quite enough. They needed more.

Felt almost numb as he walked down the hall, stopping outside of one of the rooms. He knocked and waited, looking up at his mother as she answered the door.

“Keith, is something wrong?” she asked, her eyes flickering between him and the baby.

“Yes,” he answered. “Something is very wrong, and I need you to take care of Karina for me.” He looked down at his baby girl, running a finger along her chubby cheek. “Don’t give her to _anyone_ else, do you understand me? No matter what anyone else says. Shit, if things get really bad, I want you to take her and run. Go to the Marmora base.”

“Keith…”

“Trust me.”

They stared at one another before she nodded her head. “I said I’d never leave you, but that I’d do what you needed me to.” She reached out and took Karina from him. “I will protect her with my life.”

“I know you will.” Keith stared at his daughter, leaning forward and pressing his forehead against hers gently. “Be good Kari, I’ll be back soon, and hopefully this will all be over before your Papá is awake.” He kissed her forehead and backed away from her, turning around and heading towards the door.

“Mama!”

He froze, and squeezed his eyes shut. Keith wanted to turn around, but he didn’t. He forced himself to walk forward out of the room.

“Mama!”

The door closed behind him, and he took a deep breath. He steeled his nerves, knowing that his baby would be okay. It wasn’t easy, but he knew he could trust his family. He wasn’t alone.

He practically stormed his way towards the command deck, hoping against all hope that Shiro wouldn’t be there. He’d probably be able to find a way to get out of there without arousing any suspicions, but he was still on edge. Luckily, everyone else would probably just assume that he was worried about Lance.

People always underestimated Omegas that way, even if they were more open-minded.

Relief rushed through him when he saw that Allura was alone with only the mice. He was pretty sure that they’d be okay to talk in front of (he hadn’t seen them around often ever since Karina grabbed onto the smallest one’s tail).

Allura looked towards him, polite surprise on her face. “Keith! What are—“

“Shiro’s the one who attacked Lance.”

Her question, no doubt wondering where Karina was, died on her lips. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she said, “How can you say that?”

“Because he told Hunk so,” Keith said, keep his voice stern. “He said my name, and he kept saying ‘Black’. Shiro was the only one by him during the fight. He would have seen what happened but keeps acting like he doesn’t know. It looks like Red was attacked by a lion.”  
  
“It could be—“  
  
“Lotor? Really, Allura? If Lotor’s playing us, he’s doing it in a way that’s far too smart for a move this obvious and bad. Not to mention he was here with us for a pretty long time, and he was fighting against Axca. It wasn’t him and we both know it. I know you don’t even _want_ to consider that.” He stared at her. “Lance said that he knew that Shiro…that this thing parading as Shiro, genuinely thinks he’s the real one, but he’s not. Hell, he said that Shiro told him he didn’t feel like himself. Something is _wrong_ Allura, and we both know it.”

“Where’s your proof?”

“There is none. Nothing concrete. My mother did say that Ulaz, the one that freed Shiro, was supposedly seeing if a rumoured clone project was in works, but it’s just what she says,” Keith admitted, but wasn’t going to let that deter him. “We didn’t know that before though, and that’s why Lance couldn’t really come to anyone, couldn’t get anyone else to believe him. Lance confronted Shiro just before going into his rut. A Beta, even if they’re physically stronger, would _never_ try to take on an Alpha in a rut. Never. So of course he waited until after.”

“How would he coordinate something like this?”

“The same way that my abduction was coordinated. We act like it was a coincidence, but twice? Twice, Allura? Pidge even said it wasn’t possible. Someone fucked with the systems twice. You _know_ something’s wrong. You’ve seen it too.”

Her stern expression wavered. How could she deny his claims of thinking something was wrong when she knew it was? “Do you really believe that? That the Shiro that’s here could possibly be…a clone, or something?”

“Lance said that there was something wrong. He knew it. I think maybe we all saw things and looked away, but he knew. I believe him. Just trust me.”

Her face wavered, and she asked, “What do you want me to do?”

“We need proof beyond just what my mother says, because that _could_ be a coincidence,” Keith said immediately, latching onto her hesitant acceptance. “And there’s someone would be able to tell us _exactly_ what happened.” He met her eyes. “Black didn’t teleport Shiro to the Galra. Why would they? We just got the wrong Shiro back, and Black knew. That’s why they were so hesitant to take him back. I think that’s what they were looking for…seeing if he would do more harm than having a pregnant Black Paladin.” Because that’s what Black did. Black was the quietest of the lions, seemingly the most lifeless, but they were always watching and listening. Watching for the moments that showed them the potential people had in them.

Maybe Allura wasn’t sure about his claims, but she wasn’t about to argue with a lion of Voltron. Slowly, she nodded her head. “Go to Black. Get answers. I don’t want this to be true. If it’s not, then we know that Shiro may need some medical, emotional, or mental help. If it is, then we left the real Shiro out there alone for over a deca-phoeb, and we’ve been manipulated for months.”

“I know,” Keith said, crossing his arms in front of him.

“Keith, if you’re right, if Lance is right…” She trailed off, looking unsure and rather horrified. “Where’s your daughter?”

“With my mother, ready to bail out of here if need be,” Keith said with a nod of his head.

“Good, that’s good.” She closed her eyes, and he belatedly realized that she was forcing back tears. “Go. I’ll distract Shiro if I think he’s heading that way.”

“I’m sorry,” Keith muttered, not liking how distressed she was.

“There’s something terrible about knowing that something was so very wrong, but looking the other way, even when your friend was telling you to keep looking because they needed your help.” She took a deep breath. “If this goes badly, I’ll get Coran to stay with Lance.”

Keith’s stomach clenched, and he felt like throwing up again. He nodded his head, and turned to make his way to Black’s hangar.

All he wanted was answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go. 
> 
> Firstly, Karina's development is very loosely based on normal human development with some differences. I mean, humans are actually more varied than you realize in their growth even as babies, but one talking as young as Karina is, while possible, is not any type of common at all. She's got some alien blood in her, after all! 
> 
> And hey, she gets a speaking line! 
> 
> Thank you everyone for such great AU ideas! I've written a lot of them down, and we'll see what I end up actually doing. Whatever I write next, it'll probably be a while before it's out. We'll see though. 
> 
> Right now I'm amusing myself by combining different AU ideas together. Definitely one way to make things a little more original, right?


	27. Combustion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some violence in this chapter. Mentions of injuries and such. It's not gory at all. I do mention attempted strangulation though if that gets to you. 
> 
> Oh, and character death.

_Shiro sighed as he stared at the school in front of him. It clearly wasn’t the nicest of schools with window grills stretched over every glass surface, except for the door. Almost appropriately, that window was cracked up and in need of repair._

_He knew that it was completely inappropriate, but he couldn’t help but wonder how a kid from a place like this could be some kind of prodigy? It was rare for the Garrison to actually try to recruit people, but it still happened sometimes._

_“Let’s get this over with.”_

_He made sure (twice) to lock his car as he approached the school. Walking inside, he made a beeline for the office, glad to see that there wasn’t that many students milling about. For the most part they were in class, which was good. Students tended to either be intimidated by him, or they came up to ask a million questions._

_The secretary looked up at him, blinking with surprise. “Oh! You must be the representative from the Galaxy Garrison! Takeshi Sh—Sh-ro-gone?”_

_He internally cringed at the pronouncement of his name, and wondered why she had to ask if he was the representative. He was wearing his uniform. “Yes ma’am. The Garrison made an appointment to meet up with one of your students? Keith Kogane?”_

_Her lips pressed together. “That boy? Are you sure?”_

_Well, that certainly said a lot. “Yes ma’am.”_

_“One moment, I’ll tell the principal that you’re here.”_

_He waited as the woman walked into the door with fairly heavy-duty locks behind her. Shiro didn’t quite know what to think about that. A moment later, a tall, muscular man with a neatly buzzed haircut and a no-nonsense expression came out. He was definitely ex-military of some sort._

_“Takashi Shirogane,” the man said, reaching a hand out to shake his firmly. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Was in the Garrison myself once and still keep up with the people there. I’m Rendall Hawkins.”_

_Ah, he had heard of this man. He was known to be a brutal drill-instructor. Whoever thought it was a good idea to put him in charge of children was probably desperate for discipline.  
_ __  
“It’s good to be here, sir,” Shiro said, keeping his expression neutral. “The Garrison is very interested in Keith. He broke records that someone his age shouldn’t have been able to break on the simulator we had at the career fair.”

_Mr. Hawkins frowned. “About that. The Garrison is an upstanding institution, and while I admit, Kogane has a lot of untapped talent, it’s squandered by his attitude and his inability to control himself. The Garrison is not the place for him. There are students much more deserving of it.”_

_Shiro stared at him, a bit taken back by this, and a bit affronted for a child that wasn’t even there to defend himself. His straightened his shoulders and met the principal’s gaze head-on. “That may be, but my instructions were to meet with Mr. Kogane, sir.”_

_“Well, he’s already in my office,” Hawkins motioned behind him, “and not to see you. Got in a fist fight with one of our more…upstanding students.”_

_Shiro raised an eyebrow and nodded his head. He followed Hawkins into the office, which looked rather nice compared to the open office of the secretary. It took him a moment to spot the boy in question, and he couldn’t help but be surprised when he did._

_The boy was small and pale, with scruffy black hair, and freshly blackened skin around his eye that seemed almost like a muted bluish-purple colour. It was something that he hadn’t seen before. What he had seen was that guarded, distrusting expression on his face._

_He smiled at him and said, “Hello, I’m Shirogane Takaishi.” He held his hand out to him, and was a bit taken back by the way the boy met his gaze head-on almost defiantly. He expected a meek, unsure look._

_“Kogane Keith,” he replied, reaching out to shake his hand, squeezing it almost challengingly._

_So this is what Hawkins meant. This child clearly had dealt with people in authority before and had decided that they needed to earn his respect. Clearly an Alpha, unpresented or not. That wouldn’t have sat well with someone who had been in the Garrison for a long time like Hawkins.  
_ __  
It was like looking at a younger version of himself.

…

The first time that Keith had sat in Black’s pilot seat, he had been too desperate to save Shiro to really be nervous about it, to worry about the fact that he actually got the Black Lion to respond to him. They said Red was the pickiest lion, but Black was the one that took the longest to bond with. The fact that Shiro had done it so well was amazing.

It was one of the reasons that Keith had been so nervous the second time he sat in Black’s pilot seat. Despite what everyone else said, it did feel like they were giving up on Shiro. He thought he could never possibly bond with Black, because Shiro’s bond was far too strong, too irreplaceable. He couldn’t be a leader. He was too hotheaded, too selfish. He didn’t want to be responsible for the lives of others. It hadn’t made sense at all. He wasn’t a natural born leader, he wasn’t willing to lead, and others certainly didn’t follow him easily.

Except, he eventually had accepted it. Only after Lance had reached out to him, offered to shoulder some of the burden. Soon after, everyone else started helping in ways they never had to with Shiro. It had made him feel like a failure at the time because he shouldn’t have to rely on others like that.

Watching Shiro take over again when he was pregnant, and again now, he was starting to realize that maybe that hadn’t been a weakness like he thought. He knew now without a doubt that it made Lance feel stronger and more confident in himself. He knew it made everyone feel closer and more united. Wasn’t that what they were supposed to be as Voltron? Maybe in his own weakness, everyone became stronger as a collective.

He had also certainly learned to curb his temper, to keep himself calm, and to care for others. The fact that he had a child _required_ it. Babies didn’t understand when they got on your nerves, when it was a bad time. They relied entirely on their caregivers now just for the basics, but to learn, laugh, grow, and play. 

It was also liberating to know that his mother _had_ wanted him. She hadn’t abandoned him willingly. It was to save his sister, which he could understand entirely. He never wanted to have to choose between children ever, but if he had another one, and separating their family was the _only_ way to keep them safe…well…no. Keith wouldn’t do that. He’d find some other way to do things because there would be more options. That’s what they were fighting for.

He wasn’t _tainted_. There wasn’t something wrong with him. He had family and friends that truly cared about him, that he cared for, and they all relied with one another. Sure, they’d all have bad days where they’d fight, or where they’d get trapped in their own minds, but that’s what it meant to be human.

As much as Keith had been focusing on the fact that he was Galra, he was really more human at heart than anything else. He looked human, he had grown up on Earth thinking that’s all he was. As far as it mattered, he was human.

He was human. He was Galra. He was an Omega. He was a Bearer. He was an Alpha’s mate. He was a mother. He was a Paladin.

He wasn’t Shiro, and that was entirely okay.

His hand brushed along the metallic wall of Black’s cockpit, ghosting over the controls as he slowly sad down in the chair again. Keith was nervous again, but not for the same reason as before.

“Black,” he muttered to the unresponsive lion, “I—I wanted to apologize. I know…I know I had a good reason to stop piloting you. We both know I did. But everything before that…what I thought about it…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not trusting you. For always questioning your decisions.” He smiled. “I still don’t entirely get it, but all you’ve ever done is try to help me. So, I’m sorry. And thank you for everything you’ve done.”

He took a deep breath, and though nothing lit up, there was still an awareness around him that became a little more interested, a little more focused on him.

Keith closed his eyes and put his hand on the console, bowing his head slightly. “I need to know. I need to know what you knew all those months ago when you wouldn’t let him back in. I need to know what I forced onto the team by being scared and running again. I’m so _sick_ of running. I can’t do it anymore, not when everyone needs me.”

Suddenly everything lit up around Keith, he could feel something building up inside of him, an idea of sorts. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes.

His eyes slowly opened again, and he flinched back. No longer was he inside of the Black Lion. Instead he was standing in a strange, purple-shaded place with stars dancing around him, a red and a blue star standing out brightly. He took a step forward, but caught sight of his own hands, flinching a bit when he realized that he was almost glowing.  
  
Despite all this strangeness, he got the feeling that he had been here before.

“Keith.”

With a jump, Keith looked over his shoulders, spinning all the way around when he realized who was standing there. “Shiro.”

This Shiro was different. This Shiro was smiling warmly at him, and everything about him seemed right. There wasn’t that uncanny feeling that something was a little bit wrong.

Then he remembered something else. “I’ve been here before.”  
  
“You were,” Shiro agreed with a nod of his head as he took a step towards him. “It was an explosion, and Black brought you here to talk.”

“You tried to warn me,” Keith realized, eyes widening as guilt rose up in him. “You tried to tell me that he wasn’t you…because he’s not you, is he?”

“Don’t feel too bad, this place is hard to grasp onto in certain moments,” Shiro said with a nod. “I’ve tried to reach out to the others as well. I almost got Lance, but didn’t quite make it. I think it was enough to really tip him off that something was wrong.”

“He was the one that realized something was wrong beyond PTSD,” Keith admitted, his voice choking more than it should have. “Shiro…please…”

“He is and isn’t me,” Shiro said slowly, squinting a bit at him. “He is a perfect clone of me, and genuinely thinks that he’s me. More like a twin than anything else. Honestly though, I don’t even know if I’m even the real Shiro myself or not.” He stared at Keith sadly. “I could very well have been a clone too. When Black teleported me away to a safe place, my consciousness was left behind. There was some kind of programming in me too but it wasn’t…active. It was removed when I was left here with Black. It was why the separation happened. They didn’t even _know_ I was here until you found _him_.”

“So you might be the real Shiro, but you might not be,” Keith clarified, his stomach sinking. “And either way, your body is somewhere out there basically in a coma?”  
  
“From what I gather, yes.”

Keith wasn’t even in his body, and he still had to sit down. “Why?”

“Because I was Haggar’s Champion, her toy, and her tool,” Shiro explained sadly. “Ulaz saved me, but for all I know I was just another clone that happened to be there. Maybe I’m the original Shiro that left Earth, maybe I’m not. I don’t know. What I do know is that I remember everything. I remember that you’re my little brother. I know that whatever she tried to do with me didn’t succeed because Ulaz got me out so quickly. The Shiro with you know, his programming is complete. I can see into his mind every time he’s in Black. He was okay at first, it was why we let him in when you _couldn’t_ pilot them anymore, but lately it’s been different. Haggar is directly controlling him, using him to spy on all of you. She used him to try and push you away so you’d step down from Black and hopefully that would be enough – though Black and I both agreed that he was better than putting you in danger. Then she started targeting Lance.” He shook his head. “Black and I realized how bad it was when it was too late.” He stared at him. “He doesn’t know it yet, but Black and I blocked him out. There’s a chance his programming will make him react violently to that.”

Keith was sure that if he was in his body, he would have thrown up. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing bitterly. Here he thought that he had found Shiro twice, when he definitely hadn’t found him the second time, and there was a chance that he hadn’t even found him the first time. There could very well be two Shiros out in the universe, one in a coma because his consciousness was here, and the original one that left Earth who knows where. Or maybe both were dead. Maybe there was only one. It was so, so confusing.

Keith took a deep breath and focused himself. Now was _not_ the time to get emotional. What mattered in the end was the person before him. This person, real Shiro or a clone that wasn’t out to kill them, had genuinely cared about them. He had led them, had laughed and goofed around with them.

He was just as real any way you looked at it. So was the Shiro that was back on the castle ship, but he was being forced to do things against his will even if he didn’t realize it. That’s what programming did, right?

“I don’t understand how you’re here,” Keith admitted, focusing on one thing at a time.

“When Black saved me, whatever they did must have destroyed the programming that was in me and it separated my consciousness from the rest of me. Instead of killing me though, the physical me went into a coma, and I’m in here. In theory, you could put me back together. I don’t know. Don’t focus on that right now. There would have been a little bit of me here no matter what though. In fact, a part of Zarkon, the part before he was corrupted, is here too, though in a different way. The lions…they take a piece of all of their Paladins. Each and every one of them is important to them. It’s rare that they can separate from them like I am right now.”

“Are you why Black chose me?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, not really. Well, Black knows what I know about you, but no one tells them what to do. Black saw what I saw in you. That when push comes to shove, you have all the instincts to be a strong leader as long as you work with others.” He smiled. “Even if I might not be the real Shiro either, I do have all his memories too.”

“You’re all real,” Keith snapped suddenly. “It doesn’t matter where you came from. You’re still our friend. You’re still a part of the team. You were our leader. It doesn’t matter if you’re the original, or a clone.” His voice wavered. “I can’t take you back with me right now, can I?”  
  
“I have no body to go back to right now,” he admitted. “It’s out there somewhere though, and I’m pretty sure it’s still alive. What matters right now is the rest of the team and the Shiro that’s out there causing trouble without even knowing it. Me…I’m okay here. I’m never alone, and I’m helping all of you in the ways I can too. Besides, there are other things you’re wondering too, aren’t you?” His smirk became playful. “Because you’ve grown up now. You have a mate and a pup.”

Keith flushed a bit, and then nodded his head. “Did he attack Lance?”  
  
“Yes.” Shiro frowned. “Lance was getting too close to the truth. They fought a little while ago, and Lance accused him of ‘not being Shiro at all’. It was all he needed to silence him.”

Keith took a deep, shuddering breath. “What do I do? I can’t save you. I can’t…can I save him? That Shiro? Then…then I can find your body and put you back together again. You’re their true Paladin.”  
  
“Keith…there is no such thing as ‘one true Paladin’. You know this. I am still here though. I’m a part of Black now. This Shiro betrayed Voltron in the same way Zarkon did. Maybe you can find a way to save him, maybe you can’t and have to end things. I don’t envy you, but I know you can do it. Forget what people say about watching out for those that have nothing to lose. You have _everything_ to fight for. Everything to lose. That’s why I know you won’t fail. I know it.”

“I’m not a leader,” Keith mumbled out weakly.

“Of course you are, and you know it too. You’ve grown in patience. You think now before you act. You’re different than me. Maybe you need Lance to be your other half of a leader. That’s fine. Maybe you need everyone to fill in the gaps. That’s fine too. You’ll struggle, it’s okay. It’s okay to learn and grow as a leader while being one. In fact, it’s the best way to learn. Everyone fill follow you. They did before.”

“Lance should be leader.”

He nodded his head slowly. “He would make a great Black Paladin. Don’t disregard the fact that he also makes a _fantastic_ Red Paladin as well. That’s one of Lance’s greatest strengths, to be what everyone needs him to be. Honestly, the two of you could go either way, but I think, for now at least, that it needs to be this way.”

Keith could see that. He knew his mate was talented in so many ways, though Lance was often down on himself because he never seemed to be the _best_ at it (shooting aside). What was that old phrase? A jack of all trades, master of none, but often times better than a master of one?

There was one other thing though. “I…how can I be a Paladin and…Karina…”  
  
“Trust you team, that’s what it all comes down to, right?” Shiro smiled at him warmly. “I’m so proud of you Keith. I know you and everyone else can do this. I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”

Keith nodded his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was back inside of Black, tears streaming down his cheeks. He leaned forward and let himself cry. Cry for this Shiro, for the one back on the ship, and maybe even a potential third one out there if the Shiro that he was talking to turned out to be a clone as well (he didn’t know how they’d find that out). He cried for Lance, for Allura, for Pidge, for Hunk, for Coran, for the lions, for his mother, for Karina, even for himself.

He just let everything out.

…

Allura stared out across the command deck, her eyes focusing on the seat that was delegated to the Black Paladin.

She had grown up with the Lions of Voltron. Her father had told her time and time again that they were all unique, and that they were really their own entities that they couldn’t completely understand. She was given guidelines on what to expect with each of them based off of the observations of the first group of Paladins.

They knew for a fact that the lions shared an energy with their Paladins, and as the largest and the head, Black required the most. Every lion had something unique and special to them. No one single one was more important than the others, since without one, there couldn’t be a Voltron.

That aside, there was a vastness to Black that the other lions didn’t quite have, stemming from its powers over the wind, sky, and space. They needed a Paladin who could sustain them. She had felt the struggle Black was having lately, but she hadn’t understood what was wrong. She knew something was wrong with Shiro, but again, hadn’t understood and didn’t pursue it.

She felt like an idiot. She had distracted Shiro with discussions about the next world they were travelling to, and was easily able to pick out what Keith was saying about Shiro not being Shiro. She felt horrible about ignoring Lance’s worries, so focused on her Altean alchemy and aiding Lotor to take the Red Paladin seriously.

Allura closed her eyes as she heard the footsteps approaching her. She opened them again and looked back at Keith. His cheeks were stained with lines from tears, eyes rimmed red. That was the only confirmation that she needed.

“The real one?” she asked. “Did Black tell you what happened to him?”

Keith looked down. “No. He did.”  
  
“He did?” She repeated.  
  
“His consciousness is within Black. His body is somewhere else. He doesn’t know where. He doesn’t even know if he’s the original Shiro that left Earth or a clone himself, but he’s not like this one. Haggar’s controlling this one.” Keith looked at her sadly and seriously.

That brought so many questions to Allura’s mind, but she had to focus on the here and now. “We can’t let him back in Black.”

“I don’t think he’s tried, but Black won’t let him. Not after what he did to Lance.”

She tried to hide the sob that bubbled up in her chest, but was unable to. “So he did do it? All because we haven’t been listening to Lance, so he had to confront him alone.”

Keith nodded his head and looked at her unsurely. “Allura. Once this…not-Shiro realizes Black won’t let him in…I mean…he already knows Lance was onto him so it’s not a reach to think that the rest of us might be too. The programming or whatever that’s in him could make things bad really quick.”

Allura pressed her lips together, staring at the floor before looking at him. “I’ll get everyone else. You should probably put your armour on. He’ll probably come for you.”

Keith grimaced a bit at that, but nodded his head in agreement.

Allura waited for him to leave before she wrapped her right arm around herself, her left hand pressing against her lips to stifle the sounds of her sobs.

…

_“Keith,” Shiro said, his voice stern._

_The small teenage pouted, full-on pouted, crossing his arms in front of him, hiding his bruised knuckles. “It wasn’t my fault.”_

_“So the other kid made you punch him?” He raised an eyebrow. He found himself drawn to the teenage boy, volunteering as a mentor for him. Yes, he had a lot of discipline problems, but he was startlingly intelligent and talented, and Shiro didn’t want to see that go to waste. The boy’s foster mother agreed with him. “We had a deal. No fights for a week and we would go to the planetarium.”_

_Keith growled a bit and looked down at the ground._

_Shiro frowned. “What happened?”_

_The teenager kicked at the ground, hesitantly looking up to meet the man’s eyes. “They just…he backed an Omega that presented like two weeks ago and just got over their first heat into a corner. She thought that she was a Beta, and has scholarships and everything to a good school, but he was telling her things like how she didn’t deserve it, how Omegas were only good for fucking and making pups. He then tried to touch her even though she said no.”_

_Oh. Oh that was a very good reason. He got the feeling that it wasn’t everything though. “Then what happened?”_

_“I pushed him away from her,” Keith admitted, not looking guilty in the slightest. “Told him off. But…my foster brother is friends with him and told him…told him that I’m an Omega too and he turned it around on me.” His ears burned red with frustration. “He said that the only reason an Omega belongs in the Garrison is to make the Alphas…feel good.”_

_Rage rushed through Shiro. There was a lot to unpack in that statement, things that he hadn’t known. He had no idea Keith was an Omega, and that was surprising, but it also made sense given that Keith had to miss their meet-ups every so often, probably due to his heats. He most likely worse those patches that went over scent glands to hide the smells. It was basically harmless as long as they were taken off at night time._

_“They’re wrong,” Shiro told him. “Keith, they’re so wrong about that, and if I were in your shoes, I would have punched him too.” He wasn’t supposed to be encouraging this, but he felt that Keith responded to him when he was a little more real and honest with him. “You do belong in the Garrison.”_

_Keith’s shoulders slumped and he muttered, “I don’t really belong anywhere.”_

…

Coran looked around the corridor, cobalt eyes carefully scanning the area in front of him. Once he was sure that he was alone, he moved swiftly, hurrying down the hall before anyone could see him. He came to a stop at another door, and did the same thing as before to make sure no one was around.

Coran rushed into the med bay, stopping only when he reached the pod that Lance had been in for the past day. He stared at the young man with sad eyes, pressing a hand to the glass. “I’m so sorry, my boy. I should have listened more.”

He looked at the screen that showed his vitals. They were steadily improving, and technically he could probably be outside of the pod without worrying about a relapse. It would be better for him to stay in there though.

If what Allura said was true though, and she seemed very sure, there was a very real chance that Lance was in danger. He was a sitting patopatka there.

“Don’t worry,” Coran spoke out loud. “I won’t let any harm come to you.”

…

_“…And that one there is only seen during the winter months in the northern hemisphere. It’s so weird to thing that people on different places on Earth see different constellations,” Keith rambled on, looking at the star map in front of him._

_Shiro chuckled at the teenage boy. “You certainly know a lot about the stars.”_

_He shrugged bashfully. “My dad and I used to sit and stare at them a lot when I was little. He’d point them out to me and tell me the stories associated with them.” Keith’s smile fell. “I was only little, but I still remember.” He turned his eyes up towards the dark sky above them. “Sometimes it feels like the stars are the only thing I have left of him.”_

_“It sounds like he cared about you a lot,” Shiro said. He knew how hard of a time Keith had in foster care. He had seen the files when they came over to the Garrison for the early entry program that doubled up on finishing high school courses and training in other ways. It was amazing for those who got enrolled in it, but wasn’t really fair to the other cadets that joined later on, since they were grouped into the same classes with students that had a year or two more experience. It was a hard program to get into, and Shiro was astoundingly proud of Keith. The Garrison may have sought him out, but he worked hard to prove to everyone else that he deserved to be there._

_“I like to think he did,” Keith replied. “I only have good memories of him.” A smile appeared on his face. “I remember he once said that we’d explore space together. Maybe that’s why I like it so much, and things like hiking, camping, and exploring. He never cared that there was a chance I could be an Omega.” He chuckled. “Once he even asked me if I wanted to go by the name Keitha and be a girl. Said it was my choice.” His smile faded. “I wish you could have met him, Shiro.”_

_“I wish I could have too,” Shiro agreed. He was a little bit jealous, because he had never known his own father, and only knew that he was dead now. Still, he adored his mother and she was still with him, so he couldn’t be too envious of Keith._

_“Shiro?” Keith’s voice was so timid that he couldn’t help but look over at him. “Do you think that we’ll be able to explore space together sometime?”_

_“We will,” the Beta assured him, staring up at the stars. “I promise you, as long as you work hard, we’ll get there some day.”_

_“Yeah.” Keith smiled as he stared at the sky.  
_ __  
Shiro chuckled a bit as well. He was so glad that he had to go to that crummy school to meet with some so-called talented kid. Otherwise he wouldn’t have found his little brother.

…

Shiro stood in the observation room, overlooking the stars. He didn’t recognize any of the constellations, didn’t know where he was in the universe specifically. He just knew that it was far away from home. Or was it? He didn’t quite know anymore.

Guilt rushed through his veins. He wasn’t himself anymore and he hated it. Shiro didn’t know what possessed him to do what he had done. He could still remember hearing Black _screaming_ at him. He could feel the lion’s hurt and betrayal at what he had done to Red. What he had done to Lance.  
  
Just history repeating itself once again.

He heard the door slide open behind him, a singular set of footsteps approaching him, before stopping a few feet away from him. Shiro looked up at the window, eyes going to Keith’s reflection, the younger man wearing his red and white armour. Somehow, despite it being months since he had donned it, it still suited him.

“You know what I did,” Shiro said, a numbness welling up within him.  
  
“Yes,” Keith answered, his voice steady and stern.

“Do you know why? Why I’m doing this?” Shiro held his hands up in front of him. “Because I don’t.”  
  
“I think so.”

He hummed thoughtfully at that. “I don’t know what’s happening, but it needs to stop. I don’t…” He turned around to face Keith.

“It’s okay, we can help you.” He held out his hand.

Relief rushed over him, and Shiro reached out, flesh hand holding Keith’s. Then everything went still.

Sometimes things happened and it was almost like watching a dream or a nightmare unfold right in front of them. It didn’t make sense. It was horrible. It didn’t feel real, more like watching a movie from within your own body.

That was what he felt as his flesh hand held onto Keith’s painfully tight to hold him in place, his prosthetic arm lighting up as he raised it into the air in slow motion.  
  
Then everything started moving in real time again, and his hand met Keith’s shield. The smaller of the two grunted, not nearly in the best shape he could have been. Shiro’s arm charged as he slammed it down on the shield, the tainted quintessence causing it to flicker out of existence.

Keith blocked Shiro’s arm with his Marmora blade, but that was exactly what he wanted. With his other hand, he used the black bayard, feeling it shift forms under his hand into a long, thin blade that he swung at Keith’s side.

In quick succession, the Omega moved out of the way of his arm, and then grabbed onto the bayard. They stumbled backwards, Shiro’s metal hand wrapping around his exposed neck as Keith’s blade fell to the floor.

No, this wasn’t right. He had to let go.

Keith struggled against him, one hand grasping onto his metal arm to try and undo his grasp, the other still holding onto the hilt of the black bayard, trying to keep the blade away. He kicked his feet out at Shiro, desperate to get away.

He needed to let go. He was hurting Keith! He was hurting his little brother! His hand twitched slightly.

“It’s too bad,” Shiro muttered. “If you would have been a good little bitch and focused on your pup, this wouldn’t have to happen. Now she gets to grow up without a mother and a father. Only you. Don’t worry, Paladin. I’ll take good care of her once I pry her out of your dead mother’s hands.”

There were tears in Keith’s eyes as he tried to say something, but Shiro was crushing his windpipe and he couldn’t say anything. Why couldn’t he let go? He didn’t want to do this.

“You should have stayed on that planet you escaped from. Maybe you’d get to see her grow up then.”

Keith’s hand fell from where it had been clawing at his prosthetic, eyes locking onto Shiro’s, the hand that was holding onto the bayard twitching.

Then the black bayard vanished in a flash of purple light. It reappeared in Keith’s other hand, and he swung at Shiro’s side.

He just barely got out of the way, the sword that actually seemed to match the Marmora blade in design sliding at his side. One part of Shiro raged with frustration, the other part cheered.

Keith rolled away from him, gasping desperately for breath and coughing. There were distinctive fingerprints etched into his skin, the marks turning purple.

In the reflection, Shiro could see that his eyes were glowing yellow, and a part of him was screaming for this to stop. The part that was doing this horrible acts was much louder.

“You’ve made a mistake, Paladin. Your child and mate will suffer for it,” a distinctively different voice spoke through him.

“Haggar,” Keith croaked out, pushing himself up to one knee, sword held out protectively. “You touch them, and I’ll hunt _you_ down and rip you to pieces.”

Shiro felt himself rush forward again, but then something jumped on him from behind, slamming into his neck. Electricity rushed through him and he fell to the floor, muscles seizing.

“Keith! Are you okay?” Pidge said from somewhere over him.

“Yeah,” Keith croaked out. Shiro could see him from where he was on the floor, flexing his hand to see if the electricity had passed through him already (the advantages of his arm). Shiro watched as Pidge dropped her guard and turned to Keith, mentally screaming at her to pay attention because it was a bad move. He could already feel his strength rapidly coming back

 “I—look out!”  
  
Keith tackled Pidge out of the way the second that Shiro sprang into action, rolling across the floor. He was about to go after them but stopped as a new command came into his mind, prompting him to turn and leave the room.

That was a much better idea.

That was why half of him absolutely hated it. Someone had to stop him.

…

Hunk twitched nervously as he followed Allura down the hall, unable to believe that this was really happening. At one point of time, his instincts on who was a trustworthy person and who wasn’t had been on point. It was why he had called out Rolo and Nyma so easily. He had been suspicious of Lotor, but decided to trust in Allura and her ability to take care of herself, but still kept the Galran Emperor at a distance. Shiro though…that was different. Hunk just thought that maybe the PTSD was manifesting in a different way.

He should have known. He was their Pack Leader. Yet he ignored his bad feelings about Shiro. He ignored Lance’s paranoia of him, assuming that it was just his protective instincts over Keith and the baby going a bit crazy. Then both Lance and Keith together had confronted him and everything started to make so much sense that it was almost painful.

Allura froze in front of them, and he almost crashed into her. He listened carefully, hearing the sounds of footsteps rushing towards them. Both were tense, bayards in hand, as Keith and Pidge came around the corner.

“Oh thank god,” Hunk blurted out at the sight of them. “Are you guys o…Keith! Your neck!” It was a mess of bruises and distinctive purple marks that actually almost seemed like scars, though scars didn’t usually turn purple. They were in the shape of a hand. He leaned close to look at it.

“He got away,” Pidge said, anger tinting her voice. “He could have attacked us, but he didn’t. I think…we think that he might be doing something else. And we know that Haggar has Sendek with her – she’s the one controlling not-Shiro, and he almost ruined us early on so we started thinking—”  
  
“The crystal,” Allura interrupted with a gasp.

It took Hunk a moment to realize what she meant. “We’re nowhere near another planet. If that blows up all our life support systems…” He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to have to experience nearly suffocating again.  
  
His eyes turned to Keith, who looked so tense and ready to bolt that it wasn’t even funny. He was probably fighting every instinct screaming at him to go find his baby and run.

“There’s a backup system now that’s completely separate,” Allura informed them.

They all stared at her. “There is?” Pidge asked.

“It was a project I started working on to practice my alchemy. It’ll keep our gravity and life support systems going.”

Hunk was about to say something else when there was a loud bang, and everything around them would have gone completely dark if it wasn’t for the turquoise lights on their armour.

They all stood silently, before Allura said, “We need to get to the crystal.”

“Keith has the black bayard,” Pidge noted. “I don’t think he’d have anything as powerful as the bomb that destroyed the other crystal. Maybe we can recover some of it? Maybe it’s not that bad?”

“Right, let’s go,” Hunk agreed.

“Wait.” They all stopped and looked back at Keith. He was looking down the hall oddly and turned his attention to them. “Turn them off.” He motioned towards the lights on their armour.

“Dude,” Hunk spoke up nervously, “we won’t be able to see.”

“Trust me.”

The Alpha was suddenly taken back in time to the back of a hover-bike, zooming away from the Garrison officers.  
  
_“Shut up and trust me.”_

“Alright,” Allura spoke up, nodding her head at him. All of them turned off their lights, plunging the hall into darkness. There was something odd about hearing everyone, but not being able to see them. “What do we do?”

“This is your castle, your technology. You can manipulate it in a way that none of us will ever be able to. Do you think Pidge is right?”

“She is right that the explosion isn’t as big as the one that Sendek caused. With Pidge and Hunk’s help, if there’s anything left, we may be able to get it working so that we don’t have to use the backups yet.”

“Problem. That’s where not-Shiro is and we’re going blind,” Pidge pointed out.

“I can handle him,” Keith insisted.

Hunk felt something tug inside of him. Shiro was Keith’s older brother, and even if this wasn’t Shiro, it still looked like him. “Are you sure? I mean, he kind of…” He motioned towards where he thought Keith’s neck was. Lance was still down for the count, he didn’t want to let anything happen to Keith. Then his cheeks turned red when he realized no one could see him.

“I know.”

He blinked with surprise. “…You saw that?”

“Oh!” Pidge exclaimed. “Right! Galra eyes! You can see in the dark.”

“Yeah. We’re going to hold hands and I’ll guide you down the hall. Try to be as quiet as possible and hopefully Shiro won’t know we’re coming. Hunk, you’ll be at the back. If anything happens, get your bayard and just start shooting. The rest of us will hit the deck.” Hunk jumped slightly when Keith grabbed his hand, putting it in Pidge’s. Hunk heard him shift forward, probably doing the same to Pidge and Allura, before he said. “Let’s go.”

They moved down the hallway quietly and cautiously, all three of them relying on Keith to guide them. It was surprisingly smooth sailing until Keith suddenly moved them into an indent in the hall. There was the sound of footsteps hurrying by them.

They all held their breath, staying completely silent until Keith whispered, “Lights on.”

Hunk was all-too relieved to turn the lights on his armour back on. They were very close to the room with the crystal in it, but Keith was looking the other direction.

“That was Shiro, wasn’t it?”

Keith nodded his head stiffly and said, “I’m going to try and head him off. You guys do what you have to do.”

He was about to leave, but Allura grabbed his hand. They stared at one another before she said, “Be careful.”

“If it’s any consolation, I think a part of him is fighting this. To make a perfect clone he _had_ to be Shiro, right? He somehow had to have the same memories, he had to actually be him. I think that part of him is fighting the programming.” Keith’s fingers ghosted over his own neck. “I think if he wasn’t, I’d be dead right now.”

“That’s actually not very comforting,” Hunk admitted. It was nice to know that the good parts of him might still be in him, fighting back, but what if he lost that fight and Haggar took complete control?

Keith put a hand on his arm briefly. “It’ll be okay.” He cast a look around at everyone else and ran down the hall, vanishing into the darkness.

“Let’s go,” Allura urged them.

Hunk and Pidge started following her, and Pidge muttered, “You think Keith will be okay?”

“I hope so.”

…

Keith longed to go down to his mother’s room, take his baby girl, and run away. Every instinct inside of him was screaming to go, screaming at him that he was just a little Omega, he wasn’t made for this. He wasn’t made to fight the Beta that everyone thought was an Omega.

The thing is, Keith had a sinking feeling that Shiro was heading towards the med bay. It would be stupid for Shiro, Haggar, whoever it was calling the shots, to go after Karina. His mother was more than formidable, and the Galra instinct to protect their young and the young of others made them fierce. There was another important person that was even more vulnerable at the moment.

Keith couldn’t be an Omega right now. He needed to be that Bearer with all those vicious instincts to protect his child and his mate. 

He bristled a bit at the thought of not-Shiro hurting Lance. Hurting his baby. He would _die_ before he let that happen, and he hoped that the part of these not-Shiro that actually _was_ still Shiro was fighting with everything he had.

Keith couldn’t hear anything as he got to the med bay, cautiously entering the dark room. His heart sunk when he realized that the pods had all descended into the ground, the power off. Did that mean that Lance would wake up trapped in a small, dark tube? Keith knew that the incident with getting stuck in one a few years’ prior had really gotten to him. Lance hated small, dark, enclosed spaces.

Keith saw the violent violet glow a split second before an arm came flying at him. He dodged out of the way, his hand going for his Marmora blade first. He held it defensively, staring at this not-Shiro. His eyes were glowing yellow now, none of that familiar warmth on his face. “I knew you’d come running to save him.” His voice made Keith shudder, sounding like a mixture of Shiro and Haggar.

The blade in Keith’s hand grew to form a sword instead of a dagger. He didn’t say a word, surging forward with his weapon.

His made met Shiro’s glowing arm again and again as they clashed.  
  
“You’re strong for a for a _Bearer_. It’s surprising, considering how pathetic human Omegas seem.

They lay whimpering for a week, _desperate_ for another to use them. And you, you actually allowed yourself to _spawn_. I have seen Shiro’s memories, I know all that you are.” A wave of energy rushed from Shiro’s arm, throwing Keith backwards. He slammed into the ground with a gasp, his blade skittering across the floor. He grunted when Shiro’s boot crashed down onto his arm that was reaching for the weapon. “Pathetic creatures. To think that two of the Paladins of Voltron becoming mewling quims so often is shameful.”

The black bayard appeared in Keith’s free hand and he swung towards Shiro’s leg, managing to graze it enough to force him back. Keith then rolled out of the way, springing to his feet and lashing out at him with the sword.

The not-Shiro was forced back from Keith’s onslaught. He hissed with rage, arm glowing entirely violet and swinging up when Keith’s sword swung down. Pain exploded in Keith’s face as the glowing hand made contact, and he once again when tumbling to the ground, but at the same time, the bayard managed to break through the arm, severing it.

Keith gasped, almost curling in on himself as his eyes watered. This battle wasn’t done yet though. He grasped the sword in his hand, pushing himself up onto one knee to glare at this not-Shiro.

They both gasped, glaring at one another, before the glow in its eyes receded a bit, and Shiro’s voice clearly said, “Keith, you need to do this. You need to kill me. I’m not even real. I’m a clone. Please. I can’t—I can’t control her. I don’t want to do this anymore.” Keith was horrified to realize that this was actually the good part of him, the Shiro part that was speaking now, clearly struggling to maintain control. “You have to end this. You have to do it. Please.”  
  
Keith wanted to do it. Wanted to prove he could. His hand was shaking though, and he just kept seeing the face of his brother, especially as he begged to be stopped. The one person that never gave up on him until he found a family with Voltron. The brother that sat with him outside just like his father had, looking at constellations and telling stories about them. The brother that helped him look beyond his high school bullies and harassers, that always believed that he could be better than he was.

Tears streaked down his cheeks. He couldn’t do this. He had to do this, but he couldn’t.

He was so distracted by this that he didn’t see the not-Shiro grasp his Marmora blade with his remaining arm. He struggled for a moment, two forces wanting to pull in opposite directions until one gave in. The clone lashed out, eyes glowing yellow again, and Keith reeled backwards.

A long, red and white blade came swinging down, catching the clone in the chest with a splatter of dark red blood. It fell to the floor, completely still as the yellow of its eyes faded away. Grey eyes stared at them for a moment before slipping shut, his lips turned up into a smile as he stopped breathing.

His bayard fell to the floor as he let out a sob, only looking up when he realized that a red one had fallen beside it. His eyes went wide as Lance fell to his knees in front of him, effectively blocking his view of the clone. He looked so pale, so tired, and still bruised, clearly not done healing, but still managing to step up to do what Keith didn’t have it in him to do.

Lance gasped, tears falling down his own cheeks as his hand gently touched Keith’s face, causing him to recoil in pain. “You’re bleeding.”

“You were right,” Keith choked out, unable to stop his tears, rocking back and forth slightly. “You were right, he was a clone. You were right.”

“Karina?”

“She’s with my mom. She’s okay. How…?” He trailed off.

“I brought him out in case the clone came after him,” Coran’s voice came from behind them. Keith jumped and looked back, watching the Altean as he rushed forward with a sheet, putting it over the body of the clone. He had tears in his eyes, much more composed than either of the Paladins were. “Once the power gets going, we’ll put you back in, Lance.”  
  
“Keith needs to go in,” Lance said, his voice rising as he looked at Keith’s neck and face. Worry spread across his features as he tried desperately to blink back tears.

“Quiznak,” Coran muttered as he stared at Keith. “Let me get something for that until the power’s on.”

Keith nodded and looked down, flinching a bit at the blood that stained his armour. His face must be bad. That didn’t matter though. He looked back at Lance, and then at the figured covered by the sheet. He whimpered a bit, and Lance tensed as he looked over, smelling just as upset as Keith felt.

The two of them held one another closely, sobbing onto one another’s shoulders.

…

_Keith stared up at the rocket in front of him, something twisting inside of his stomach as he followed Shiro towards it. They stopped, and the young man dropped his hand onto Keith’s shoulder, pointing up at the rocket. “Isn’t it amazing?”  
_ __  
“It is,” Keith agreed, because it was, but a part of him felt numb and choked up.

_“Keith…”_

_“I’ll miss you,” he admitted quickly, blinking his eyes rapidly, “but I’m also really happy for you. You get to be the pilot on the Kerberos Mission!”_

_Shiro couldn’t stop himself from grinning broadly. “Yeah. And you know, you’ll be okay too. I know it.” Keith stared at him doubtfully. “Trust me, you’ll be fine.” He playfully nudged him. “Now, don’t you go finding a mate or anything before I get back. I need to exercise my right as your big brother to chase the Alphas off.”_

_Keith snorted loudly. “No need to worry about that.”_

_“Hey, you never know what can happen.”_

_The two of them looked back up at the rocket, Shiro’s hand resting on Keith’s shoulder, a warm comforting weight._

_Shiro was right though. It would be okay. He would be back sooner than it seemed with more amazing stories from the stars to share.  
_ __  
Everything was going to be alright.

…

“You should be in one of those too.”

Lance’s eyes stayed focused on his daughter as she chewed on her teething ring with, swaying slightly from side to side on her back, eyes darting left and right. She was so small, but also so much bigger than when he first laid eyes on her. She was barely five months old, yet he already felt like she was growing up too quickly. He couldn’t imagine what Keith felt like, having been the one to carry her, to protect her inside of him as she grew.

His head turned up, staring at the figure of his mate made pale by the light of the healing pod.

As it turned out, the clone (that they were now calling Kuron due to the programming Pidge found with the same project name), had damaged the crystal beyond repair, but it still had enough power for them to putter their way to the Balmera for another one. That meant that they had to be a bit stingy with how they used the remaining power from the crystal, so Coran programmed only one pod to work.

Keith, his idiotic, wonderfully brave and strong mate, had been worse off than it seemed. Kuron had done some serious damage in their two confrontations, though the Omega gave as good as he got.

Lance was still injured himself, but it wasn’t quite as bad. He was sore and was absolutely jumping into the pod again once Keith was done, but he was okay for now. It was nothing he couldn’t deal with.

The harder part was still hearing the terrible screeching of Kuron forcing Black to tear through Red, the feeling and sight of someone that looked just like Shiro falling to the ground, dead because of him. He could take the physical pain. That was so much worse.

“Lance.” He looked up as Krolia, who had spoken to him before, knelt down next to him. She stared at him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. A familiar longing for his own mother rushed through him, but Krolia wasn’t bad, as far as mother-in-laws went.

“I’ll be okay until he gets out,” Lance assured her. He gently pulled Karina up into his arms, nuzzling his nose against hers, earning a happy giggle in response. He loved the sweet, oblivious innocence in her eyes and hoped that it was never torn away from her. He frowned a bit and looked at Krolia. “Does it ever get easier? I—I mean…I’ve always been at a distance, shooting sentries and Galra down. I didn’t…I’ve never…”

“It depends on the person. I’m numb to it, and I could easily see Keith reacting similarly,” Krolia admitted. “Not you though, and that’s okay. It may hurt, but you have those you can rely on.”

He nodded his head at that, looking up towards Keith again. “His face…it almost looks like he has one of your markings now.” He set Karina back down and motioned towards the healed gash on Keith’s face. It had started healing before they could get him into the pod, so it would scar over instead of vanishing, but Lance was still confused about why it was purple.

“I suppose it does, doesn,’t it?” A sad smile appeared on her face. “I’m not quite sure _why_ it’s purple, he’s had plenty of cuts before. Perhaps it was because of the quintessence in Kuron’s arm.” Her eyes turned to Lance. “Does it matter though?”  
  
“As long as it’s not hurting him or something,” Lance said quickly. “I love him, and no scarred features will ever change that.” Besides, it looked a little bit badass, if he was honest.

She smiled at him warmly, and they both looked down as the baby started babbling excitedly. When she was comfortable around someone, she was a talkative little monster, but completely silent to strangers, even glaring at them without possibly knowing what she was doing. It was pretty funny.

She would make that face to the real Shiro if they ever found his body to reunite with his consciousness. It was heartbreaking to know that she had technically never met her uncle, though in a way, she had, hadn’t she? Black was the first one to know that Keith was pregnant. Was the one that had protected him for so long. That was Shiro all along too, wasn’t it? Shiro knew the baby, and someday, when they fixed things, he’d be able to meet her too.

“Krolia,” Lance spoke up. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“After being in the Blade, it must be boring here. But you stayed and thank you for that. For giving Karina a grandmother…for giving Keith a mother. For saving him, helping him bring her into the world, for protecting both of them time and time again when I was too weak too.” Lance blinked rapidly. “Just…thanks.”  
  
“I should be thanking you,” she insisted. “I know in my heart my actions were for the best, and there was no situation where everything turned out happy for us. I broke my son’s heart. I broke my daughter’s heart. You though…you were able to piece his back together.”

“It wasn’t only me.”

“That’s true, but you had a huge part in it. So thank you.”

Lance’s cheeks flushed, and he latched onto something she said that he was curious about. “What about Axca?”

Krolia sighed. “I’m not sure yet. I know in my heart that she wasn’t fighting as much as she could have against us. There’s a lot of bitterness there that’s different from Keith’s. I haven’t given up on her yet, though.” She smiled and ran a finger along Karina’s cheek, cause her to instantly looked up at her. “You never give up on your children.”

Lance smiled a bit at that as he cast a warm smile at his baby. Yeah, in all the messes they had gone through and would face, that was something he understood without question.

He was never giving up on any of his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was honestly my hardest chapter to title. I'm still not that happy with it, but oh well. I need sleep. 
> 
> About the real Shiro: I'm kind of leaving it open to different theories. In this case, his body and mind were separated, hence why he exists in the astral plain (I bet in the show they'll just drag him out of there without much explanation because that's how they roll).
> 
> Honestly, this is actually the more optimistic ending. My original one had it where no Shiro even had the opportunity to come back. 
> 
> But Lance, he was always going to be the one to take him down in the end. I don't think it's a coincidence that he got an Altean broadsword. I really don't. It means something. Whether it's just to give him a parallel to Alfor, or have it so he's able to use a sword in Voltron, who knows? He has it for a reason though.


	28. Igniting Stars

“Where’s Karina?” Lance said, hiding his hands over his face. He opened them and said, “There’s Karina!”

The baby laughed loudly, grabbing at his hands. Lance felt his heart melt a little bit as he stared at her tiny fingers curling around his, her brown skin tone perfectly matching his own. It was still so surreal to know that the adorable child in front of him, so full of life and obvious curiosity, was _his_ daughter. She was chubby in the best way for a baby to be, and just so lively and sweet. He didn’t understand how it was possible that he made something so intrinsically good, but he wasn’t going to complain. No, he was going to work as hard as he could to make the universe a better place so that she could stay this way, even through her angsty teenage years.

He waggled his fingers over her, but realized his mistake a moment too late. “Ow!” Lance pulled his hand back when she bit it. “Holy crow, mind your demon teeth.” That was the one downside. Her tiny teeth that were growing in were _sharp_. Krolia again and again said that they’d _probably_ end up like Keith’s (very likely, since she was only a fourth Galra), which were pretty human outside of being just slightly sharper than average, something Lance knew first hand. The problem with that though was that they were going to have a small child with razor teeth running around for years until then. It’d be hilarious to freak his siblings out with though, so there was that.

It was so easy to picture little Keith running around with sharp teeth too, since Lance found Karina looked more and more like her mother every single day. He was very proud of that. There was physical proof right in front of him that Keith was his bonded mate, that they were linked in more than one way. Honestly, it made him very smug.

“God, she’s adorable,” Hunk said from where he was chopping up some kind of edible plant. “It’s not even fair.”

“It’s a good thing Keith’s pretty,” Pidge said, laying out on her stomach on the floor as she typed on her computer. The three of them had made camp in the kitchen, Lance and Pidge choosing to be on the floor with the baby than at the table.

“Yea—hey.” Lance glared at her without any real heat behind it. He did, in fact, find Keith very handsome thank you very much, but he could do without the sass.

“Mama.”

They all froze, looking down at the baby that was still squeezing Lance’s hands. Her blue eyes almost seemed to be scanning the room, looking from face to face as if trying to find something.

Pidge pushed herself up, and Hunk gasped. “Did she just…?”

“Karina,” Hunk said, wiping off his hands and coming towards them. He took out the phone-like communicator that Pidge had made them all, flipping through the pictures. He found a picture of Keith holding her, and showed it to the baby. “Look. Who’s that?”

Karina’s eyes were instantly attracted to the bright screen. She stared blankly before huffing out an excited laugh, her entire body vibrating as she reached for the communicator. “Mama!”

“Oh quiznak, she’s talking,” Lance breathed out. “She’s talking!” He laughed and bounced her excitedly. “Mija, can you say Papá?”

She glared at him, her expression reconfirming to him that she did, in fact, take after Keith more than him. He had been on the receiving end of that glare from the man in question enough to recognize it anywhere. Karina struggled against him as big crocodile tears appeared in her eyes. A second later, she started wailing.

“No, no, no!” Lance cried out, bouncing her. “It’s okay Karina, Mija! It’s okay!” Despite his soothing words, her cries got louder. He tried to give her one of her toys, but she just threw it away.

He stood up, grimacing a bit from his bruises. He held her with one arm and headed towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Hunk asked curiously.

“Just taking her to the med bay to see Keith. It might calm her down.” He didn’t want for an answer, instead continuing on his way. He tried to shush her as they walked through the halls, but she was having absolutely none of that.

Lance didn’t quite know what to do. This was the first time that she had pitched a fit _this_ bad. Or maybe it was just the first one where he had to handle it on his own. That seemed a little more likely.

As soon as he entered the med bay, he froze mid-step. Standing in front of him, leaning slightly on Allura since he had clearly just tumbled out of the pod, was Keith.

The Omega had turned to stare at them the second they entered the room, concern across his pale features, no doubt from the loud screeches coming from their baby.

Welcome back to the world of the living, Babe. Here’s your screaming child, Lance thought almost wildly.

Keith stumbled slightly, as was common after coming out of the pods, but Allura helped steady him. Lance came over to him instead. “What happened? What’s wrong? Allura just told me everyone else was fine. Why is she crying?”

Karina’s looked up at the sound of his voice, her cries instantly turning into little sniffles and hiccups. She held out a tiny hand towards him. “Mama!”

Allura cooed a bit, and Keith’s eyes softened, losing the worried edge. Lance held her out to him, knowing that the last time Keith had seen her, he had been giving her to his mother, no idea if everything would be okay, or if the Galra would have to run and escape with the child. No way to know when the next time he’d see her.

Keith took her into his arms, holding her close and pressing his nose to her neck gently. Karina cooed happily and leaned on him, nuzzling his neck and huffing slightly. Most babies tended to act that way to the Omega closest to them once they had the range of motion that Karina did. Babies tended to react more positively to the sweet scent of an Omega over any other one.

Lance took the opportunity to look him over. There suit  blocked most of Keith’s neck, but there was still some distinctive scarring around his neck from where Kuron had choked him (according to Pidge), and there was a large, purple scar across his cheek. Neither seemed to be bothering the Omega though, and that’s all that mattered to him.

“Goodness,” Allura said softly, keeping a polite distance between them. “She really wanted her mom.”

“Hey,” Keith said, his voice low. “What’s wrong?”

“Mama,” Karina muttered, more on reflex than with actually understanding.

It was such a sweet sight, that Lance couldn’t help but sweep forward, wrapping his arms around both of them. “She stared saying that just a little while ago. I can’t believe our little girl is talking!” Lance frowned slightly. “I’m sorry you weren’t there for it the first time.”

Keith glanced up at him and opened his mouth, as if to say something, before seemingly changing his mind. “I guess that’s fair, since you missed a bunch. Like discovering her dagger teeth.” Keith smirked a bit. “And her first word is Mama, so you know, I still win.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance said, nuzzling his face into Keith’s hair.

The second that he grimaced a bit, Keith moved away from him, brow furrowed. “Get in the pod.”

“Keith…”

“Lance.”

They stared at one another, almost challenging each other, before Keith tapped Lance’s stomach, and he cringed in pain. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. Pod time for me.” He looked towards Allura, who had politely been waiting beside the pod in question. “It’s okay to just put someone in without cleaning it, right?”

“It’s fine. You don’t have any open wounds anymore, which would be our biggest worry. Outside of that, it’s just a matter of comfort for people. It’s no different than sharing a bed, so you have nothing to complain or worry about,” she assured him. Allura already had a little cube in her hand that would turn into one of the suits.

“Do I need one?”

“It’ll cut the time you’re in there by quite a bit. You’ll probably only need a varga or two with it on.”

“Suit me up!” Lance rolled up his sleeve, allowing Allura to press the cube against his skin, watching the fabric spread across him. Once it was in place, he shrugged off his own clothes again, leaving them in a pile outside of the pod. He turned to Keith and said, “I pull it off better.”

“That’s probably good, since you spent more time in it,” Keith replied dryly.

“Now, now boys, no fighting in front of the baby,” Allura broke in before they could keep going.

Lance sighed and walked into the pod, turning around to stare at his family. “Wait for me to come out before more life-altering missions, okay?”

Keith just smiled at him, rubbing his hand up and down Karina’s back before Allura activated the pod and it iced over.

…

Coran stared down at the body that was laid out on the steel-like surgical table, a throbbing ache pulsing through his head. Regret filled him, both for the man in front of him, and for not realizing that something was wrong so much sooner.

He heard the door behind him slide open and closed, and immediately when to cover the body again as he looked over his shoulder. He hadn’t let any of the other Paladins or Allura see it. He sighed when he saw Matt Holt come into the room, having just joined them on the castleship that day.

He approached the bed and pulled the sheet down again, a frown on his face as he stared at the body silently.

“I’m sorry,” Matt said after a few moments of silence, his shoulders slumping as he looked at Coran. “I’m so sorry.”

“There was nothing you could have done,” he assured the young man.

“It’s not that.” Matt shook his head and looked down again. “I knew something was wrong with him.”

“I think we all did,” Coran admitted. “We all chose to look the other way.”

Matt slowly nodded his head. “When Keith was gone, Pidge gave me some stuff to go over. I found something odd, but I decided to let it go. I guess I was just so glad that Shiro was okay that I didn’t want to think…that I ignored the obvious. Pidge mentioned in a video log she gave me that he couldn’t smell anymore…but this one could.” He shook his head. “If I had said something…”

They both were silent while Coran thought about that. “There’s really no point in looking back and thinking what you could have done. That’s enough to drive the best minds mad. If I had woken up to see Alfor standing in front of me, even if I found something suspicious, I would have looked the other way too.” He reached out and put a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “As it is, you still do have the chance to meet Shiro again. We know where his consciousness is, we just need to find his body.”

“Yeah, there is that,” Matt agreed with a nod. No doubt he was wondering the likely-hood of finding Shiro comatose body, it was something Coran had wondered. He couldn’t see Black trying to teleport him somewhere where the elements or wildlife would have got to him. No, he trusted the lions, and Black had to have sent him somewhere safe. He continued to stare for a moment before asking, “What are you going to do with the body?”

“We haven’t discussed that yet. Pidge actually insisted we wait for you. Though I did do a scan and the programming in him was quite complex. I gave it to your sister to look at if you’d like to look at it.” Matt shot him a sharp look. “Don’t worry, I didn’t let her see him.”

“Good, thank you,” Matt said. He took a deep breath, reached forward, and covered the body that looked so much like his friend.

…

Allura cast her eyes around all those that sat in the lounge. Lance was holding Karina in his arms, cooing at her, while he sat in between Keith’s legs, leaning back against his chest. The Omega had his arms slung around Lance’s shoulders.

Pidge was sitting beside Matt, quietly looking at a tablet that was in her hands. He would point at something every once and a while, prompting her to nod in agreement.

Hunk was beside Coran, the two of them talking in low tones about something that Allura couldn’t hear.

She knew that she had to get their attention, it was something that she had never struggled with in the past, but it was hard this time. So very hard to work up the courage to do what needed to be done this time.

A warm hand on her shoulder startled her. She looked over at Krolia, the Galran woman smiling at her warmly. “It’ll be okay, Princess.”

It was strange, taking comfort from someone that was of a species that she had once hated. She knew better now, and something about Krolia was very comforting. She was Keith’s mother, but every once and a while, it felt like she was motherly to almost all of them.

Allura took a deep breath and walked forward, standing in front of everyone else. “We are almost at the Balmera.” Everyone fell silent, giving her their undivided attention (baby aside, who seemed more interested in chewing a hole in her onesie no matter how many times Lance tried to stop her). “However, before we get there, there is something that we need to discuss. What to do with Kuron’s body.”

Everyone glance at one another uncomfortable. Lance looked up at her and asked, “Can Haggar still access him or something? Like…could he become a zombie?”

Allura now knew what that meant, so the question alarmed her a little bit.

“The programming is pretty complex,” Pidge spoke up almost hesitantly. “It’s possible I guess, given what we know about quintessence.”

Krolia stood up straighter and said, “It would seem that removing the body from the castle would be the best idea.” She was the most impartial and could be logical about this, something that Allura found she appreciated.

“We could always put him in a crypod,” Hunk suggested.

“Why?” Lance asked. “He’s…he’s not…he’s gone.” There was guilt tinting his voice, and it made Allura’s heart squeeze. She wouldn’t have wanted to be in his shoes. Lance tilted his head back to look at Keith, who ran a hand through his hair to comfort him, but seemed lost in his own thoughts.

“And he’s not Shiro,” Pidge said bitterly.

“No, he wasn’t…but he thought he was, and he was our friend too.” Everyone looked at Keith, who was staring at Karina. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I know I told you guys this before you left, but there was definitely still a part of him that was trying to fight against Haggar. He managed to stop him at one point, take control, and begged me to…” He trailed off.

“I heard it too,” Lance said with a nod. “He was definitely holding back.”

“I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I did without my weapon if he wasn’t,” Keith added. He reached up to his cheek, hand brushing against the purple scar that marred his features.

“I wasn’t here for what happened,” Matt spoke up, “and he might have been a clone, one programmed to sabotage, but I agree, he was our friend too. We can’t just…toss him into space or put him in a freezer.”

The silence was almost overwhelming. Allura didn’t know what to say or do. She was so angry about what happened, so she understood where Lance and Pidge were coming from, but she also agreed with Keith and Matt.

“So we have a memorial for him. For the friend he was before Haggar took over.” Hunk looked to Coran. “How would we do that?”

Coran ran his fingers over his mustache. “There is…an old Altean way. I understand on earth that it’s fairly common to bury your dead, yes?” They all nodded. “On Altea, we would put them into a quintessium. It’s a special device that turns the the body into pure quintessence. We do have one in the castle.”

Allura’s eyes lit up. “Then we’d hold a ceremony to allow that quintessence out into the universe again, because energy is never destroyed it’s—”

“Just transformed,” Pidge interrupted. She closed her eyes, but Allura saw how watery they were.

Matt wrapped an arm around his sister’s shoulder, and looked towards Keith. “What do you say?”

“Me?” He looked genuinely perplexed.

“He still thought you were his brother. That’s as close to next to kin as he had up here. But maybe we shouldn’t call him Shiro? He was still different and Shiro’s still out there somewhere.”

“We’ve been calling him Kuron,” Hunk admitted.

Matt raised an eyebrow and was about to say something, but Keith cut him off. “Okay. Let’s do that.” He took a deep breath, leaning his forehead against the back of Lance’s head.

Allura felt something twist inside of her. She hated this as much as the rest of them did.

…

The type of pain that was weighing down on his heart was the same kind that would have made him slam his protective walls up and run away from the cause in the past. He couldn’t do that now. He had far too much to hold onto here, so much to look forward.

Keith should have been more upset at Kuron than he was. He was the one that let the Galra sneak up on the castleship to kidnap him. His mother and some very lucky Galra instincts, being the only things that saved him and his baby from a terrible fate. He had attacked Lance and Red, nearly taking them both out of commission for good. He had probably done things that they had yet to feel the consequences of.

Yet he couldn’t, because Kuron was a victim too. He had genuinely thought he was Shiro, thought that they were his family. Then he had been forced to hurt them, to do things he didn’t understand and confused him. He had attacked Lance. Attacked Keith. Threatened Karina. Permanently scarred Keith’s face. He had begged Keith to stop him.

The Omega looked at himself in the mirror, grimacing a bit at the violet scar that ran from under his eye to the bottom of his chin. His fingers traced it, frowning a bit.

Lance appeared behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and leaning his chin on his shoulder. “Are you worried about that again?”

“It’s ugly,” Keith muttered.

“I don’t think so.” Lance’s finger trailed along the scarred skin. “It’s kind of funny that it’s shaped like your mother’s actual markings.”

“Yeah, hilarious,” he replied glumly.

“None of that. I’m the vain one here.” Lance kissed his cheek right over the scar. “It makes you look like the badass you are.” Keith couldn’t stop his lips from ticking up slightly. “Made you smile!”

Keith turned in his arms to stare at him. “Ridiculous Alpha.”

Lance winked at him. “It’s what I’m here for.

 Getting ready for Kuron’s memorial was odd. They wore their armour, and Allura provided Karina with a little, muted pink dress. All of them had these strange pink things that reminded Keith of an infinity scarf draped around their shoulders over their armour.

It was a bittersweet feeling, because Keith was so glad that the threat of Kuron was over, but this still didn’t feel like a victory at all.

Lance had offered to hold Karina, but Keith didn’t want to let his baby go. A part of him was still on edge, still wanted to run away an hide from the rest of the universe. He took comfort in her scent, in her innocent blue eyes. Instead, Lance stayed close to him, arms wrapped around him. Even through his armour Keith could feel Lance’s grip tighten.

It was no easy feat to take the life of someone, let alone someone that looked like your friend, your childhood hero. Lance woke up in cold sweats more often than not. Keith tried to help, but he wasn’t sure if he was doing enough.

He stayed silent through the entire thing, watching as a glowing orb was gently sent out into space, glowing and dispersing in an array of glitter while Coran said some type of Altean blessing.

Keith rocked his pup, taking comfort in Lance’s arm around him. It was really all he could do for now.

…

“How are you holding up?”

Pidge looked up from the pile of blankets, sheets, and pillows that she had collected. She made a mental note to go around and borrow some clothes from the rest of the pack for her nest. Matt was leaning against her door, looking around her room with interest.

“I should be asking you that,” Pidge noted. “You and Shiro were really close. Clone or not, this had to be hard.”

Matt shrugged slightly, moving farther into the room. “And you thought that he was the Shiro that you came to know over the past few years, so I stand by me asking you first.”

She bristled a bit at that. “It doesn’t work like that! I’m the Omega, I’m supposed to be the one that cuddles everyone.”

“And I’m the Beta that does whatever the pack needs them to do.”

They glared at one another, and Pidge was a bit proud that Matt broke his gaze first.

“I’m worried, because we don’t know where Shiro’s body is right now and that’s…that’s not okay. I guess I’m also a bit…relieved too, because it means that the Shiro I know didn’t become this harsh, unfair person.” He sighed. “It’s just…hard to believe that all of this happened, and I wasn’t here to help everyone. I wasn’t here for you.”

Pidge’s expression softened, and she moved close to her brother. “Matt, it’s okay. I was okay.”

He hugs her tightly, and she sank into the warm, familiar smell that came off of him.

“Hm, you’re about to go into heat, aren’t you?” he noted.

“Yeah. Stupid Keith won’t have heats for like another half a year.”

“Well, I mean, you _could_ get pregnant if you wanted to ditch heats like he did. I’m sure you could find someone.”

She made a face. “Ew. No.” Matt laughed at that. “God no. I’ll take the heats.” She looked up at him. “Hey, you wanna come with me to help raid everyone’s rooms? Then play some video games with me?”

“Sounds good.” Matt slung an arm around her shoulder as they left. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that you’re technically an adult now. When I left you were just a kid. I mean, shit. You were my baby sister that wore dresses, and went to a normal school, and you had long hair. We didn’t know aliens existed and dad wanted to be the first to meet one—”

“I think Keith’s dad won that one,” Pidge interrupted.

Matt stumbled and then stared at the wall like he had just been told the meaning of life. After a moment he made a face and said, “Okay, fine. Didn’t need to think of that, but fine. Anyway, on that point, Keith was this little loner kid that shadowed Shiro… There was only one Shiro.”

“You looked even more like a nerd,” she supplied.

“I did,” Matt agreed and winked at her. “Now I’m just dashing.”

Pidge laughed at that. “Well, you know, time stops for no one. Except for frozen Alteans, but we don’t talk about that.”

Matt nodded at that. “We’ll get home eventually, no matter how long it takes.”

“I don’t know.” She fiddled with her shirt a bit, voicing something that she had been thinking for a while. “I mean, yeah I do want to see mom again and have earth food and stuff but…I wouldn’t mind doing this as a job. Travelling the universe with Voltron, keeping peace. You know? Just being able to visit home sometimes would be nice. Like on vacation.”

Her brother looked at her thoughtfully, before nodding once again. “Yeah, I do think I know.” He squeezed her shoulder gently. “And I’m proud of you too.”

Pidge preened at that, unable to stop herself from smiling.  Yes, things were bad, but they didn’t have to stay bad. Not if they didn’t want them to.”

…

Keith stood alone, staring up at the Black Lion that loomed before him. Though the lion didn’t look like they were active, he could feel their presence around him, and took comfort in it. He knew that Shiro was in there, with Black, and it was very comforting. Maybe that was why it didn’t seem quite as imposing as before.

Or, god forbid, maybe he was just growing up.

He looked over his shoulder as Krolia approached him, her violet gaze focus on the lion as well. They stood side-by-side silently, before she said, “Kolivan asked if I wanted to return to active duty, since the Blade doesn’t actually give any form of leave.”

“So you’re going back?” Keith asked her.

Krolia was silent for a moment before shaking her head. “I told him no. Then he started talking about putting the mission first and I cut the transmission.”

He blinked, taken back by that. “You…hung up on Kolivan?”

“He’s a bit difficult to deal sometimes,” Krolia said with a nod of her head. “He wasn’t exactly understanding when I came back with Axca, and maybe that was part of what pushed her away in the end. It’s hard for the mission to come first when you have children that means the universe to you.”

Keith absolutely understood that. He nodded his head, and said, “I think you should go look for her.”

“Keith…” Krolia trailed off.

He turned to face her. “No, hear me out. You found me and I’m glad. I’m glad you’ve been here to take care of Karina when I couldn’t, to help me even when I was being distant. It means everything, but…you have so much talent. You don’t belong sitting here as a baby sitter.”

“After everything that happened, it would be an honour to stay here and simply be Karina’s babysitter,” she said stubbornly.

Keith genuinely believed her words, and they warmed his heart. “Maybe. But…I think you need to go. Kolivan needs more help, and we need to fix this whole mess so that everything will be safe for Karina. I want you to stay, but I know you shouldn’t. It’s too selfish. Or just keep going on your own to find Axca. You could even spin it as trying to go after Haggar. I don’t know. But I think it’s a little too selfish to keep you here.”

She studied his face, her expression softening. “There is nothing wrong with wanting to be with family. I wanted so badly to stay with you and your father. The Galra were coming from one side, that Garrison of yours closing in from the other. I made sure to throw them off of Earth, but it didn’t matter in the long run.”

“So if you didn’t go back, odds were the Galra would have found Earth sooner, wouldn’t they?” That was something that had been on his mind for a while, but he found himself hesitating to ask.

“I suppose so,” she agreed.

“And you were protecting Axca. So…so I forgive you for that. I do. I understand. I’d do anything to keep Karina safe, even if she hated me.” He looked up at Black again. “You need to go after Axca, and to help Kolivan too. And you can visit whenever you want like Matt does. I’m not kicking you out or anything.”

“No,” she shook her head and stared at him with a proud smile. “You’re thinking like a leader.”

Keith shifted a bit at that. “The universe needs everyone ready, because this civil war is a mess and who knows what Haggar’s up to but it’s bound to be bad.”

“The universe needs Voltron,” she finished for him.

Keith nodded and then sighed. “I still don’t know if I can do this. I mean…I think I’m getting a hold of this parenting thing, and being in a relationship with someone, but to do it all at once along with this…”

“You can,” she said, leaving no room for argument. She put her hands on his shoulders. “I’ve seen many different types of leaders, and while you may not have _that_ much experience in the grand scheme of things, all of the greats in history started out as nothing more than you are now, even if they deny it. If they could do it, why can’t you?”

Keith felt something well up inside of him, finding it hard to breathe, but no in the same way as if he was panicking. He took a step forward, hugging her tightly. Her arms hovered awkwardly for a second before she returned the embrace.

“I expect video chats as often as possible, and updates,” Krolia insisted. “I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night. If she walks, crawls, or any time she says a new word, I want to know. And I want to know about you, Lance, and everyone else.” She paused for a moment. “And if I happen to take detours on missions, using that very helpful scanner Hunk offered me once, and happen to come across a certain sleeping human, I’ll be sure to call you straight away.”

Keith nodded his head and leaned it against her collar bone. “Thank you.”

…

“Lance, Keith, may I have a word?”

Lance looked up from where he had been kneeling on the floor, Keith splayed out on his stomach beside Karina, who was scooting around the floor, not quite crawling yet. It was more like she was just dragging herself and rolling around.

“For you, Coran?” the Alpha asked with an eager smile. “Always.”

“Leaving me for Coran now?” Keith asked, looking up with amusement.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t fight it anymore,” Lance replied dramatically before jumping to his feet. “Come to finally sweep me away?”

Coran laughed merrily at them. “Not quite yet.” He cleared his throat. “Remember when we were expressing some of the challenges that may arise when we’re all requested to go down onto planets?”

“Yes?” Keith asked slowly.

Lance’s eyes lit up and he started bouncing. “Oh my god! Did you do it? Please tell me you did it?”

“I did it,” Coran confirmed, eyes twinkling.

Keith made a confused sound behind him, followed by Karina making a similar sound. She had been trying to mimic simple sounds that everyone around her made lately.

Coran brought his hand from behind his back, and Lance’s brain nearly imploded from cuteness at what he was seeing. In his arms was a tiny version of their Paladin armour, coloured with white and purple.

“It’s perfect!” Lance said, reaching forward and running his hands over it. The white parts weren’t actual armour like theirs, instead it seemed to be made from the space-Kevlar stuff. “It’ll act like an actual space-suit for her to take her with us?”

“Absolutely. I tested it out already,” Coran assured them, looking rather proud of himself. “It should be quite comfortable as well.”

“Oh my god,” Keith said. Lance looked over his shoulder at his mate, who was staring at the suit with wide eyes. He didn’t seem angry or put-off by it though, which was a good sign in his books.

“It was entirely Lance’s idea,” Coran assured Keith. “Oh, and here.” He passed Lance the outfit, and the little helmet that went with it. “It’s perfectly padded on the inside for comfort and security, but there is no way she could smother herself or anything on it.”

Lance was internally screaming because the helmet was so little. The whole outfit was so little and adorable.

Coran chuckled and said, “I’ll leave you two to it, then. We’ll be at the Balmera in a few varga.” He backed out of the room, happily whistling while he went.

“What do you think?” Lance asked, kneeling down beside Keith again.

He watched the Omega reach out, running his fingers along the fabric. His indigo eyes turned up to him, and he pushed himself off of the floor, pressing his lips to Lance’s.

The Alpha purred slightly in response, tilting his head and running a hand through Keith’s hair. They broke apart a moment later, staring at one another through half-closed eyes. “Not complaining, but what was that for?”

“You figured out a solution to me being the Black Paladin, and all of us having to go onto peaceful worlds, and taking care of our pup,” Keith said, his voice low as he played with the ties on Lance’s jacket. “It means a lot.” His hand twisted into Lance’s hood, pulling him down to kiss him again. Lance went easily, not protesting at all as he rested his hands on the small of Keith’s back.

The moment was interrupted when Karina screeched at them. She had flipped herself over onto her back at some point, and was staring up at them.

“Come on kid,” Lance joked and he tickled her covered toes, “you need to share Mama with me.”

Karina stopped moving for a moment before rolling over and putting a hand on Keith’s leg. Keith snorted, and Lance wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or just a coincidence. It was hard to compare her development with a completely human child, since it seemed fairly varied.

The Alpha decided to play along though, and raised an eyebrow. “Yup. You gotta share.”

Her brow furrowed slightly as she tilted her head up to look at them. “No.”

Lance stared at her. “Of course your second word is no. It can’t be Papá, it has to be no, doesn’t it?” Keith chuckled, drawing his attention again. “What are you laughing at?” He kissed him again.

“No!” Karina cried out.

“Yes,” Lance replied after breaking away from a highly amused Keith.

“No!” She repeated with a scowl.

Keith burst into laughter, smiling at them warmly. The genuine amusement and adoration in his indigo eyes made Lance melt a little bit inside.

…

Hunk fidgeted nervously, wishing that he had something to fiddle with, but he was in his armour and didn’t want to ruin the highly important object that he was actually holding.

 “What’s wrong?” Pidge asked, making a reappearance for the first time in a week. She grinned at him impishly. “Nervous about meeting Shaaaay?”

“Oh!” Matt perked up. “Is that his girlfriend? I want to meet her!”

“Oh god,” Hunk groaned. “What did I do to deserve the full-force of the Holts?” He only got to see Shay every once and a while and didn’t want to scare her off. He looked down at the communicator he was holding. Hopefully that would change soon.

“I think it’s sweet that you’re giving her a communicator so she can talk with you more often,” Pidge said, sounding completely genuine about that.

Matt, on the other hand, had a teasing expression, and Hunk braced himself. Much to his luck, Allura took that moment to walk into the room, instantly distracting the older Holt. “Princess, you’re looking lovely today. What the hell is that?” Not once did his pleasant tone vanish as he pointed at the rich violet and gold fabric in her hands.

She smiled at him. “It’s one of the slings that my mother used to carry me in during diplomatic meetings. Coran gave one to Keith before, but apparently Karina bit through it already. I found one of the ones that my parents had for me made from a much more durable material since Altean babies tend to have very sharp nails at a young age. I assume Coran’s going to want this to hold Karina while we go to the Balmera since Keith is the Black Paladin again.

“I thought Coran was coming with us,” Hunk said, completely confused. The man had just told him that only a few moments ago.

“Well, someone has to stay behind with the baby, and it can’t be Keith. The Balmerans may be our allies already, but Keith _is_ the Black Paladin again.”

“Speaking of,” Matt said suddenly, “are you guys ever going to colour coordinate your outfits again? You know, you in blue, Lance in red, and Keith in black?”

Allura shook her head. “I don’t think so. Keith doesn’t really want to wear the black armour out of respect for Shiro, and Lance says that blue is more his colour. I personally think that pink is more mine.”

“It definitely is,” Lance said, seemingly popping up out of nowhere, startling them all. “Anyway, I’m staying dressed in blue, and Keith is staying in red. Why? Boom!” He held out his arms dramatically, flourishing them towards where Keith had walked up looking entirely exasperated as he held Karina in his arms.

Pidge’s voice rose shrilly. “Is she wearing tiny purple Paladin armour?”

Hunk couldn’t stop himself from letting out this weird squawking sound, because it was just too adorable. His goddaughter was the most precious thing ever.

“Red and blue makes purple. Of course you don’t want to switch,” Matt said with a chuckle.

“Gotta make it so people _know_ , you know?” Lance insisted, letting out an ‘oof’ as Keith elbowed him gently.

“Ah, so _that’s_ why Coran wanted me to find another purple one,” Allura said, her eyes positively sparkling. She held up the sling. “There are actually a bunch of these in storage in different colours, to replace the one she bit through. It should be much harder to ruin.”

“I call dibs on using it first!” Lance said enthusiastically. “I’m calling snuggle times with my girl. She likes you too much as it is.” Keith simply raised an eyebrow at that. “Papá is going to be her third word, mark my words!”

“We’ve arrived at the Balmera!” Coran said as he came into the room. “I assume we will be landing so that we can load the crystal directly?”

“Yes,” Allura said with a nod.

As everyone got ready to go, Hunk found himself taking a deep breath and muttering, “It’s fine Hunk. It’ll all be fine. If you get nervous, just direct everyone to the baby.” He glanced over to where Lance was staring Keith, leaning into his space with eyebrows raised suggestively, while Keith was trying to be unimpressed, but a smile was threatening to break through. Karina was obvious to her parents, chewing on her own gloved hand contently. Apparently space-Kevlar was good for a teething too. Who knew?

Yes, using the adorable child as a potential distraction was an excellent idea. Bless Keith for agreeing to bring Karina.

As it turned out, all of Hunk’s worries were for nothing. As soon as they set foot onto the Balmera, they were surrounded by happy Balmerans talking to them excitedly.

Allura and Coran walked away with a few Balmerans, no doubt to go find a proper crystal. Most of the crowd that greeted them was inching close to Lance, who was holding his child proudly in the sling, kind of reminding Hunk of those peacock-aliens they had met a long time ago.

The little ‘Purple Paladin’ cringed away from all the tall figures coming closer, twisting around in Lance’s arms. Her eyes met Hunk’s, but she didn’t seem impressed at all. “Mama.”

He looked around, spotting Keith with Pidge, Matt and Shay. He was about to talk to Karina, but his entire body froze and he looked back. They were talking to _Shay_.

Then they were all looking at him.

Oh _no_.

“Hunk!” Matt said as he came over to them, an impish grin on his face that Pidge mirrored perfectly. “You didn’t tell me Shay was so cute!”

“Oh, thank you, Rebel Mathematics,” she replied to him almost bashfully. Behind her, Keith pressed his hand over his face and shook his head.

Hunk mouthed the words ‘Rebel Mathematics’ to himself before he shot a brief glare at Matt. “Don’t you have trouble to cause somewhere else?” He cast a glance a Pidge. “You too.” Then he turned his attention to Keith, “And your—“

“Mama!” Karina _screeched_ , the distress in her voice making them all jump and look at her. Hunk hadn’t even seen Keith move, but suddenly he was beside Lance, who was desperately trying to calm the baby.

“She can’t smell us in the suits,” Keith said, reaching forward and taking her into his arms. Though the baby couldn’t smell him, apparently him being there was enough to calm her down a bit.

Lance pouted slightly, still wearing the sling, and looked to the worried Balmerans. “She likes Keith more than me.” His light reaction was enough to ease everyone, something that Hunk really admired. At the same time, he spied a little bit of hurt behind his eyes. Karina always seemed to choose Keith over him, and while understandable, it had to hurt him a bit.

One of the Balmeran Elders came forward and said, “Your child is beautiful and seems very healthy.”

Shay moved closer to Hunk, watching the scene curiously, and said, “I thought that Lance and Keith were _not_ going to make a child.”

Did Hunk really not tell Shay? He was sure that he had, since it was kind of a big topic. He shook his head slightly and said, “Things happen. It’s not always by choice, but neither one of them regrets it.”

“Huh,” she said, blinking. “That’s fascinating.”

His lips ticked up into a smile and he asked, “Would you like to meet her?”

Shay’s eyes lit up excitedly. “Please!”

Hunk led her a bit closer, catching Lance’s attention. The other Alpha perked up. “Hunk, my man! Hey Shay!”

“She wanted to meet Karina,” Hunk noted as they came closer.

Lance puffed up in front of him. “Who doesn’t want to meet her.” He dramatically threw his hand out over Keith’s shoulder and dragged the startled Omega (who had been whispering something to the baby and not at all paying attention to them) close. He motioned to the baby in his arms. “This is Karina, the most beautiful pup on Earth. Karina, this is Shay. She’s uncle Hunk’s girlfriend.”

“Lance!” Hunk exclaimed, his cheeks flushing.

At the same time, Keith’s brow furrowed and he muttered, “She’s never been on Earth.”

Shay ignored all of them, leaning a little bit closer to look at the baby. “My goodness, she looks like her parents. I’ve never seen human babies before, but she’s beautiful.”  
  
Karina whimpered a bit, hiding her helmeted head in Keith’s neck.

He chuckled a bit and rubbed her back. “Hey, it’s okay. Shay is a friend. Don’t be shy.” He pulled her away and turned her around so her back was pressed against his chest.

“Hello Karina,” Shay said happily.

The baby blinked up at her, a frown on her tiny face.

“I don’t think she likes me,” Shay muttered to Hunk.

Hunk laughed and set a hand on her shoulder. “She’s just shy, that’s all. This is the first time she’s been off the castleship in months, and she’s probably not used to her suit yet. She can’t smell right now and that’s probably freaking her out some.”

“That and human babies don’t do all that much anyway. Watch.” He took her out of Keith’s arms and set her on the ground. The baby seemed stunned by this for a moment before settling on her stomach and scooting forward, pulling herself across the ground. “That’s about it. And the only thing she can say is ‘mama’. We’re working on ‘papá’.” He paused. “Well, she can say ‘no’ too. She likes that one.”

“That’s amazing!” Shay practically gushed, and Hunk felt something warm bloom inside of him. It was nice to see her so excited about his little goddaughter.

“Ah!” Karina exclaimed suddenly. They all looked back down to see a spot in front of her glowing slightly. Before either of her parents could react, a crystal grew out of the ground, a sparkling purple one that looked almost like a flower.

Keith knelt down beside her, taking the flower into his hand and out of her reach, staring at it warily.

“Oh!” Shay exclaimed excitedly. “That Balmera gifted her with a crystal!”

“Does that happen often?” Hunk asked curiously.

Shay shook her head. “No. The Balmera gifts us with life itself. Since she’s a new life though, the Balmera has chosen to give her a gift.”

Keith stared at the crystal before lowering back down to the baby’s reach. “Look at that, Kari.” She touched it, a shriek of laughter escaping her lips.

Lance picked up the flower next, and Hunk chuckled slightly as the baby glared at him. He turned it around in his hand and said, “Wow, that’s really pretty.”

Karina puffed out her cheeks, and Hunk watched as she pushed herself up onto her knees, something that she had done before. What she had _not_ done before was crawl towards him.

Keith was smiling, and Lance blinked down at her as she grabbed his leg. It took him a moment before he swept the baby up into his arms. “Ah! My beautiful brilliant baby! Crawling to Papá!”

He looked at Keith. “Suck it!”

“Oh my god,” Hunk muttered, shaking his head as Shay looked at them curiously.

Keith arched an eyebrow before muttering, “Only if you ask nicely.” Lance spluttered, and Hunk roared with laughter.

“I don’t understand,” Shay said, blinking up at Hunk innocently.

He chuckled and shook his head. “It’s just Lance and Keith being Lance and Keith. You get used to it.” His eyes lit up. “Right! There’s something I need to give you!”

He led her away from the others, wanting some time alone while Allura and Coran worked, Matt and Pidge caused problems, and Keith and Lance flirted.

Hopefully he would be able to talk to Shay a lot more after this.

…

“That is certainly a…disturbing turn on events.” Allura watched as Lotor frowned, seemingly very unhappy that he wasn’t here when Kuron struck. “I was unable to find any current information about clones myself, so whatever the witch is doing is of her own making. Though I was able to confirm some of what Krolia said. What disturbs me is the fact that she was prompting this clone to support me, while also setting up adversaries against me.” His eyes turned towards her. “How did we not detect this before the Red Paladin became suspicious?”

Allura’s eyebrows rose at that. When she agreed to sit down with Lotor and tell him about the events that had unfolded after he left, she hadn’t known what to expect. What she didn’t expect was for him to have found some insight into this. “She did make clones of people for infiltration in the past?” That was certainly disturbing.

“When she couldn’t directly be involved with mind-control, yes,” Lotor said with a nod. “I’ve found several documented cases. I’ve sent the information over to you to give to the Blade. Perhaps some of them infiltrating some of the other sectors will be able to put it to good use.”

“Directly involved with mind-control? You found evidence of that as well?” Allura didn’t know how much more of this she could take.

“Not exactly.” Lotor frowned, looking a little more vulnerable in Allura’s eyes. She didn’t like it at all. “She took over the mind of one of my generals, Narti, forcing her to turn on me. I was forced to do the same thing you were, except the rest of my generals turned against me.”

Allura reached out, placing her hand on his arm. It was almost a relief that he understood what they were going through, that he believed her without question. To be fair, he was here when Keith first proposed his and Lance’s theory about what was happening.

The sadness in his eyes vanished, becoming calculating again. “And the rest of your Paladins are who they say they are?” There was an edge to his tone, a warning of sorts. “One was missing for some time, and all the others went on solo missions to find him, did they not?”

She looked down. “Yes. I made sure to scan them all.” It wasn’t her proudest moment, and it was something she hadn’t told them about. She had first scanned Keith and Lance when they went into the healing pods, and then got Coran to scan Hunk, Pidge, and even Matt, claiming they were for updated records since a few systems in the castle got messed up. She didn’t want to be suspicious of anyone, and that was the easiest way to double check now that they knew what to look for.

Lotor nodded his head in approval.  “It was the right choice. There’s no telling what the witch actually saw.”

 She was more than a little relieved at his approval. “I do think I know of one thing. Though Axca did not use it to its full extent, probably due to Keith and Karina’s presence here, the ship your former generals have is much more powerful than before. We were able to compare it through video feeds. I believe that Haggar gained access to Oriadne.”

Lotor grimaced, a look of disgust passing over his features. “We will defeat her and Sendek, and free my Empire from her. Once we have enough quintessence, she will be powerless and the people will be settled. All of this will be over.”

“And your former generals?” Allura prompted.

He was silent for a moment before saying, “We will do what we must.” His sharp eyes turned to her once again. “Your Black Paladin can handle that, can he not? Axca is his sister.”

Allura laughed at that. “Keith _will_ stop you from killing her if it comes to a scenario like that.” She had no doubt in her mind. For someone that had been so alone when she first met him, Keith embraced family as something that was incredibly important to him now.

“And your sure someone so…swayed by _family_ is best suited for the Black Lion?”

She was slightly taken back by the question, but answered it with ease. “I have no say in what the lions do.” A smile appeared on her face. “However, I do have faith in Keith. He has grown as a person and a leader since before. I trust the Black Lion, and trust that he is the best one for this.”

Lotor sighed and looked at the star charts in front of them, colour coded to show what was in Lotor’s power, and what was still in chaos. “Then I put my faith in you, Allura.” He smiled at her softly. “Hopefully it won’t be misplaced again.”

She nodded her head in agreement, reaching out to grasp his hand with her own. “Yes. We wouldn’t want to go through that again.”

…

Lance yawned as he flopped back onto his bed. He stretched out, and let out an ‘oof’ as Keith dropped Karina onto his chest. He looked up at his made, who was smiling at them. “I need to put new sheets in her crib. Someone put the wrong size diaper on her and it slipped off a bit.”

“Ew, gross,” he muttered. “You want some help?”

“Nah, I got it.” Keith stared at them both for a moment, a soft expression in his eyes before he turned to leave.

The Alpha sighed and looked down at his little pup, who blinked back at him tiredly. He chuckled at her, rubbing his hand up and down her back. “You look ready to pass out, did you have fun today? Papá had fun, especially when you grabbed Lotor’s hair. Such a good girl.”

She stared at him and mirrored his smile. Keith said that she got her big grin from him, and there was something nice about that.

“I can’t wait for you to meet your abuela and abuelo. They’ll love you to pieces. Your tíos and tías will be so jealous since you’ll be the prettiest little girl in the family.” Lance pulled her up so that they were face to face. “Papá’s so proud of you, Miha.”

“Papa,” she repeated, and Lance thought that his heart had stopped in that moment. He blinked his eyes rapidly as he practically launched himself out of the bed, nearly colliding with Keith, who was walking back into the room.

“What the hell?” the Omega asked, eyes darting from his mate to their pup and looking around for some apparent threat.

“Say it again, Karina,” Lance urged her on. “Show Mama what you said. Do it for Papá. Or Papa. I’ll take that again if it’s easier.”

“Papa,” she repeated, almost looking smug, like she knew how happy she was making her father.

“I’ll take the English. Or she can call me potato. That’s fine,” Lance choked out.

“Are you okay?” Keith asked him.

“I’m a bit emotional,” he admitted, his voice rising into a squeak. “Let’s just put her to bed, okay?” He needed to actually do something to get his thoughts back in track.

Once the baby was cleaned, properly dressed, and happily snoozing in her crib, the two retreated back to their own bedroom.

Lance flopped back onto the bed, burying his face in the pillow, and said, “She actually said it, Keith! She said it!”

“Of course she did.” Keith climbed onto the bed beside him, tossing his arm around his shoulders and practically laying his upper body on top of the Alpha’s. “She loves you to pieces. I know it seems like she likes me more, but when I’m holding her and she sees you I can smell how she gets a little bit more excited and happy.”

Tears welled up in Lance’s eyes as he rolled around so that they were facing one another, Keith lifting himself onto his forearms. The Omega’s brow furrowed slightly, and he said, “Thank you.”

“For what?” Lance quirked an eyebrow.

“For not giving up on me? For making me open up more? For being there? For caring? For giving me our daughter? Honestly, take your pick.” He stared at him seriously. “For doing what I couldn’t do to make sure our entire family was safe. I know it’s hard on you.”

Lance instantly knew what Keith was talking about. Nausea creeped into his stomach at the thought of the Altean broadsword in his hand, meeting its mark. He hadn’t changed his bayard into that since, sticking with his guns. “I’m sorry for waking you up at night.” More than once Keith had eased him out of warped nightmares of that night.

“Don’t be.” Keith said sternly. He laid back down on him fully, tucking his head under Lance’s chin. “I’ll wake up with you as many times as you need me too.”

There was really no arguing with that voice, so Lance simply nodded his head and tugged his mate closer. His eyes watered a bit, but he held it in, trying to focus on the happy things instead of the sad ones. He owed it not only to his team, pack, and family, but he owed it to himself too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many people: OMG KURON NEEDS TO GO OUT THE AIRLOCK  
> Me: *kills him*  
> Many people: ...waIT THAT IS NOT WHAT WE MEANT
> 
> I love you guys, you have no idea how much you amuse me. I'm so thankful for all the feedback you've given me! It's really awesome, and you guys actually have no idea how much you shaped this story. I originally had it planned at 10 chapter, and then 20 when I got the entire plot worked out. Questions you guys asked influenced me into changing this or adding things, and I ended up at 30. The next two chapters are kind of both more like epilogues honestly, but still entirely worth it in my opinion.
> 
> Thank you everyone! You guys are amazing! :D


	29. Where My Heart Lies

Pidge _ran_ down the hall as quickly as her feet could carry her, nearly stumbling over her own feet as she held her communicator in her hands. She pressed a couple buttons, starting the camera function on it as she flew through one of the doors (thank god they opened on their own).

“You got it, Pidge?” Lance cried out excitedly.

“Yup!”

“Hurry!”

She focused on the camera on the Alpha for a moment before turning it towards Karina. The baby was dressed in adorable little outfit gifted to her from the Olkari. She looked rather adorably regal standing there with her tiny outfit on, her black hair tied into two little pigtails on the top of her head.

It was during that visit, and how excited that people were to see her, that Pidge realized brain-washed Coran’s point of her being a bit of a symbol was probably true. She was the child of two Paladins fighting to make the universe a safe place. Her, along with other children that were born, were huge motivators to finding peace.

Of course, Pidge couldn’t only see her adorably goofy niece in the baby girl.

Karina’s hand let go of the couch, and she stood on her own for a moment before falling onto her butt, the diaper padding her fall. She burst into laughter, kicking her feet up.

“Isn’t she so cute? Where’s my smart girl?” Lance cooed at her. Pidge made sure to catch his gushing face on camera, glad that no one could see hers, because she was melting from cuteness too.

“Papa!” Karina said, slapping at her own legs.

“Papá,” Lance replied. “Don’t worry, Rina, we’ll get you saying it right eventually.”

“Papa,” she said again, smiling so broadly that she was showing off the pointy little teeth she had. Despite the fact that she wasn’t saying it exactly how Lance wanted her to yet, Pidge swore that he teared up every time she said that.

“You know,” Pidge spoke up, still keeping the camera focused on the baby, “I noticed you call her Rina and Keith calls her Kari. Why not pick one nickname and stick to it? I mean, you call her Mija too.”

“We can come up with our own nicknames for her and use whatever ones we want. We’re our own people, not a hive-mind, Pidge,” he quipped sarcastically.

“God I wish we were. I would control everything,” she replied, zooming in a little bit on Karina’s face.

“You’re an _arm_ , Pidge,” Lance pointed out. “Keith’s the head. And that would be just as terrifying.”  
  
“You’re right. I guess we can just settle on making Voltron do ridiculous poses.” It was a challenge that she and Lance had been doing rather frequently. See what awkward ‘finishing pose’ that they could do before Keith broke apart the formation. One time they even managed to flip a retreating Galra ship off. It was great.

“I still wanna see if they’ll catch on that we’re doing the YMCA.”

“But also consider: the macarena.” 

Lance’s eyes lit up excitedly. “We’re doing it. Oh my god, we’re going with the rebels on the next mission. I’m going to get Keith in on this so that he doesn’t break Voltron when he realizes what’s up. Matt will die, and then he’ll have to explain what’s going on!”

Pidge burst into laughter, the camera shaking in her hands. “I’m down for that, but how are you going to get Keith to do that? You know he’s right there with Allura about professionalism.”

She zoomed in on Lance’s face as he grinned at her, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “I can be _very_ persuasive.”

Pidge snorted at that and turned the camera back to Karina, who had been moving around some soft, coloured shapes on the floor. “What do you think? Want to come hang out with me while Papá goes to try and get laid?”

“Um, excuse _you_. I’m going to try and get Keith to agree with our plans.”

“Well you better make it good then.”

“Always do.”

“Oh my god.” Pidge burst out laughing again. “You’re shameless. You need more shame in your life. I’m going to follow you around afterwards with a bell, saying ‘shame’ over and over again.”

Lance laughed at that too. Pidge watched him inhale deeply, and then grimace. “Oh, ew.”

She took a sniff of the air, a rancid smell hitting her. “Gross!” She looked down at Karina. “Is that _you_?”

Karina smiled brightly at them and giggled.

“Well then, Pidge, since you volunteered—“

“Oh no,” she broke in. “Na-uh. She’s your child.”

“But you already said—“

“You are her _father_.”

“Yes, but babysitters have to—“

“I’ll tell Keith that you left her with a dirty diaper.”

“Don’t do that! The last time she got diaper rash, I thought he was going to throw the diaper on my _head_ ,” Lance whined. “Besides, you have no proof.”

“This thing is still recording.”

Karina crawled over to Lance, putting a hand on his leg. “Papa.”

He groaned. “Fine, fine.” He scooped her up into her arms. “It’s a good thing you’re cute. When I’m old and senile, you’ll have to clean _my_ diaper. Fair deal?”

She just blinked at him cutely.

Pidge laughed, watching Lance give into a single look. It was adorable and hilarious. She turned off the recording as Lance left the room. That was definitely one to share with everyone else.

Maybe after they got Voltron to do the Macarena though.

…

Keith was _exhausted_. They had come from a world here two factions of Galra were fighting, neither of which were sided with Lotor. The world was in chaos, the people suffering, and they couldn’t let that stand.

He had to admit, he was impressed with Lotor. He still trusted him about a far as he could throw him, but he was an excellent public speaker, able to actually sway the wary aliens. It honestly alarmed Keith a little bit. Lotor could be playing them very easily, and they might not even be aware of it. As long as they were all on the same side though, as long as their missions were useful to him, he would be their ally.

Keith had already mentally prepped himself for the moment Lotor would turn. It hadn’t happened yet, and hopefully it never would, since Allura was attached to him, but seeing how obsessed Lotor could be with his Altean heritage and quintessence left Keith feeling odd.

He’d be the suspicious one if it meant keeping his team, his family safe. Though to be fair, Lance was still equally as suspicious.

All of that left him exhausted as it was, the worry and the missions, but there was really no down time like before, where he could run off to train or have a nap. No, he got back, and Coran was almost immediately pushing a stinky baby into his arms.

Keith _loved_ Karina more than anything else in the universe. It was such a strong emotion that sometimes it made him want to punch something just because he was feeling too much. Even now, he couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that she existed, at the fact that he was more than okay that she was here. Past him really had nothing to worry about.

That being said, he loved his daughter, but she also exhausted him to no end. Being a parent was far more than just taking care of her basic needs and protection. It meant learning, play, and fair discipline as well.

Now was one of those exhausting times where she just wouldn’t stop screaming and crying. He knew why, of course. She had been throwing her toys at his face, so he took them from her, only for her to pitch a baby fit. Her face was red, her nose snotty, eyes filled with tears, but he wasn’t budging on this. He was also starting to think that Coran might have forgotten to give her a nap earlier, so he had put her in her crib, turned on her mobile, dimmed the lights, and left.

She was still whining from in the room, but he wasn’t going to go in, even if a small part of him wanted to. That wouldn’t help her at all, and he was not going to raise an entitled, spoiled brat. He firmly believed that it was parents and guardians who impacted the behaviour of children, and he wasn’t going to let his child think that she could get away with everything just because she was cranky. Yes, she was a baby, but Krolia had pointed out that learning started then, and having her learn to self-soothe was a good thing. It wasn’t like he’d ignore her if she was genuinely distressed.

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked as he came into the room. The question was valid, since Keith was basically face-down on the couch, and Karina was crying from her room.

“Don’t,” Keith said, pointing at Lance without looking, just _knowing_ that his mate was inching his way towards the baby’s room. Lance was absolute putty when it came to Karina.

How he had become the sterner parent was beyond Keith, but here they were. Not that Lance couldn’t be serious, Keith just got the feeling that this side of him would come out as Karina got a little bit older. They were a team, after all. “She was being a brat and needs a nap. She’ll cry herself out eventually.” Already he could hear a difference. He also definitely knew that they were her fake cries.

He didn’t hear any movement at first, but then heard footsteps, and smelled Lance hovering close by. He rubbed his hand up and down Keith’s back. “That was a hard battle.”

Keith groaned and looked at Lance, realizing that he was still wearing his armour. “Thanks for going with Allura to meet with the world leaders.” Normally, he would have gone, but Coran had commed them saying that something was wrong with Karina.

Naturally, that made Keith panic a bit, but Lance was the best right hand and partner that Keith could ask for, and told him to go back to the castle, that he could handle going with Allura. He truly felt like Keith’s co-leader rather than a second-in-command and it was such a relief. In reality, he and Lance absolutely were co-leaders. One time, Pidge even joked that Black’s consoles lit up purple, and they had established that Lance was blue and Keith was red, therefore they made purple and one complete Black Paladin.

“So what’s up with her?” Lance asked as Keith sat up.

“I think Coran forgot to put her down for her nap. I mean, we brought a safe crib to the bridge for that with all that noise-cancelling stuff for that reason, right? Also her diaper was filled with shit so she was…unhappy.” He reached out, helping his mate take his armour off. He knew Lance had to be as tired as he was.

“Next time I’ll come back and you can deal with the politics,” Lance suggested as he tugged off his chest piece. It was normally what they did anyway, switching off to come back if they needed to.

Keith hummed in response, and pulled Lance down onto the couch with him once all of the armour was on the floor. They could clean it up later. He curled up at his side, his face going to the crook of his neck. Lance didn’t protest at all, leaning back on the couch and tugging him forward so that he was on top of him.

They sat silently, listening to Karina’s cries fade as she fell asleep. Keith felt Lance purr slightly as he nuzzled into him. They were silent for a moment, before Lance said, “She’s asleep. You know what we should do?”

Keith looked up at him, and he looked back, eyes wide with suggestive excitement. “Naptime?” he asked hopefully.

“Naptime,” Lance confirmed. “But only if you carry me to bed.”

The Omega grunted. “No. You carry me.”

“You’re stronger than I am.”

That actually wasn’t true. They had tested it out recently, and it turned out that Lance was physically stronger, Keith was just a hell of a lot faster. He didn’t have the energy to point that out now though, settling on, “You’re the Alpha. Take care of your Omega.”

“You can’t insist on not being treated differently based on your dynamic, and then use it when you want to.”

“Fucking watch me.”

Lance snorted, nuzzling his face into Keith’s hair. “Fine, I guess we stay here for now. Even though our backs will be sore.”  He suddenly perked up. “Hey, hey. After Karina’s asleep for the night, we can have a bath date! Think about it. Just you, me, warm water, that awesome stuff that Allura gave us that puts any bath bomb to shame?”

That really did sound nice. Totally worth the soreness from sleeping on top of one another on a tiny space like their space-couch. He nodded his head in agreement. “Okay. Nap now though.”

Lance kissed his forehead, and the two of them curled up in a tangle of limbs, falling to sleep almost immediately.

…

Hunk tried to keep his chuckling to a minimum, but he just couldn’t help it. The scene before him was far too funny. It actually had him reaching into his pocket to take out his communication device to take a video. Surely Krolia would want _this_ of all things?

“So, Keith, how’s it going?” he asked cheekily as he started recording.

Keith looked over at him, completely unimpressed. There was mashed food on his shirt, cheek, and mixed into a part of his hair where tiny, messy hands had grabbed. “Just fine.”

Karina bounced in her high chair, hands reaching out to try and grab the little spoon from Keith’s hand. Hunk watched with pure amusement as he lifted it out of reach. “No.” She paused for a moment before going after the bowl that he had in his other hand. “No,” he spoke a little more firmly.

“Aww come on, she just wants to play,” Hunk cooed at the little girl.

Keith eyed him as if he had betrayed him. “I’m not teaching her to play with her food, Hunk. That’s what her toys are for.”

Oh, okay yeah, Hunk could respect that. They needed to instill proper behaviours in her from a young age, while still giving her plenty of room to play and grow on her own. Karina also had a more toys than a baby her age should. He would know, he, Pidge, and Matt made a lot of them. “Well, you could always do the ‘here comes the airplane thing’ or something. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you try that.”

Keith’s entire body froze. He slowly set the bowl of baby food on the table, putting the little spoon with it. All of his motions were slow and mechanical, like he was lost in some horrible flashback. He turned to make eye contact with Hunk, staring directly at the camera as he called out, “Lance!”

“Yeah, Babe?” Hunk jumped, having been so focused on watching Keith and Karina, that he hadn’t even noticed the other Alpha walk into the room.

“Come feed Karina with the airplane thing. Hunk thinks it might work.”

Lance was standing with his back to Hunk, so he couldn’t see his face as he suddenly waved his arms around. “Oh no, I’m not doing that again.”

He could, however, perfectly see the sad expression on Keith’s face. “Please? She hasn’t eaten much…”

Lance’s shoulders slumped, unable to fight the urge to listen to his mate. He might have been able to do it sometimes, but not when his pup’s health was also brought up. “Ugh. Fine.”

Hunk watched with rapt interest as Lance took Keith’s seat, the Omega smiling at him brightly and muttering something to him quietly, before moving out of the way. Keith glance at him and said, “Just watch.”

“Mija,” Lance said, his voice a tad higher than normal, “open up for the airplane.” He made noises as he moved the spoon around, the little girl’s eyes following it. He brought it to her lips as she opened them, and Hunk didn’t see the issue.

Then Karina screamed happily, flailing her arms and legs, knocking the spoon out of Lance’s hand with enough force to send it back at his eye.

“And that,” Keith said calmly, “is why we don’t do that.”

“Point made,” Hunk noted, a bit stunned at what just happened.

“Ow! How do you _always_ get it in my eye?” Lance said, looking at the baby with an unimpressed frown.

She simply smiled brightly at him, a couple of her tiny, sharp teeth showing, and laughed.

“You got that all on camera, right?” Keith asked Hunk suddenly.

The Pack Leader chuckled and said, “Don’t worry Buddy, I got you covered.” He stopped the recording, and wondered if it was something that Shay might like to see.

…

Coran was almost bouncing with excitement, as he held what Hunk described as an ‘Altean camcorder’ in his hands. They had taken to recording big moments that happened for Krolia at first, but soon realized that it was good just to have the memories, and they might be able to share them with Shiro when they found him.

This was exactly one of those moments, or at least, he hoped it would be.

Lance was kneeling down on the floor, Matt kneeling down a few feet away from him holding Karina around her middle, the baby standing up. Matt was looking up at Coran curiously.

“Alright,” the Altean said. “Everything is ready to go!”

Lance grinned at the camera and then looked at Karina, holding out his hands. “Come to Papá, Mija.” He wiggles his fingers at the baby.

Matt let go of her, and she swayed a bit, but managed to stay up, blinking her big blue eyes at her father. The rebel chuckled at her and said, “You can do it! Your Papá’s right there!”

She put her hand in her mouth and muttered, “Papa?”

“That’s right, Rina! Come on!” Lance encouraged her with a big smile.

They all held their breath as she took a step forward, wobbling slightly and holding her hands out on instinct. Her lips pressed together, brow furrowing in a way that made Lance snort.

“I must say, though she certainly has your smile, she does share most of her features with Keith, doesn’t she?” Coran asked Lance.

“She does,” Matt answered before Lance could, having moved so that he could see her face. “That scowl is definitely his.”

“That’s fine, isn’t it, Mija?” Lance asked her. “Because we both love Mama and think he’s beautiful. Don’t you want to show him how you can walk now?” He wiggled his fingers again to entice her to walk forward. “Walk to Papá!”

They all held their breath as she took a few more steps timidly, before apparently becoming more confident. She toddled forward, veering out of reach of both Lance and Matt.

“Hey wait!” Lance called out to her.

Coran kept the camera focusing on her, and watched as she suddenly fell to her stomach, bursting into tears. “Oh dear!”

Lance made a high pitched sound of distress, but before he could get up, Keith was suddenly there, leaning down to pick up his crying child. “You’re okay. You ran across the room!”

“Oh, she was going to you.” Lance flopped down and pouted. “We need to have another kid that I can take off with for three months so they like me more.”

Keith looked at Lance and dryly said, “Only if you’re pushing them out.”

“Okay, no, I definitely remember a conversation a long time ago why that doesn’t work!” Lance cried out.

Keith snickered and knelt down on the floor a few feet away from Lance and Matt. “Ass babies.”

“There’s a story there, and I actually _do_ think I want to know it,” Matt said, sounding highly intrigued. “Maybe not on camera though.”

Keith glanced up, seemingly realizing that this was all being recorded for the first time. Coran waved at him as his cheeks burned slightly. He cleared his throat, and put Karina down so she was standing again. “Alright you, stop the fake tears, you’re fine.”

Coran chuckled a little at that. Karina certainly was dramatic when she wanted something, or didn’t want to do something. It seemed like she took after her father in that respect.

She grabbed onto Keith’s hand. “Mama.”

“Don’t mama me, I’m calling you out. Walk to Papá this time.” Despite his words, the only thing on Keith’s face was pure affection and pride.

Lance perked up at that, sitting back up, and Karina sniffled a little bit as Keith pried his hands away from her, pointing her towards her father. They all started encouraging her again as Keith let go of her.

Almost unsurely, Karina took a step forward, looked back at Keith, and promptly fell on her bottom. Before she could start with her crocodile tears again, Keith just chuckled and helped her back up before letting go again.

Karina stared at Lance, taking another step, and then she stumbled forward in a tiny, awkward run, tripping in the last couple steps into Lance’s arms.

All four men cheered for her, and she beamed brightly.

Matt glanced up at the camera and then said, “Coran, are you _crying_?”

Coran sniffed. “Of course not. Just some space-dust in my eye.” It wasn’t like seeing a tiny, new person taking her first unaided steps made him emotional. It wasn’t like he was being pulled back to a time when the parents that were kneeling on the floor both had dark skin, silvery-white hair, and bright eyes. Nope. Not at all.

He turned the camera off, hoping that he had held it far enough away from him so that it wouldn’t catch his sniffles.  

…

“Are you sure, Allura?”

The Princess tilted her chin up proudly, huffing a little bit. “I am the Princess of Altea, the head of the coalition, the Blue Paladin, the guardian spirit of water. I can handle giving a bath to such a sweet little baby.” She looked at Karina, who was bundled in her mother’s arms in a fluffy towel that had a little hood on it, shaped like some animal called a hippo, whatever that was. Hunk had made it for her.

The little girl was rubbing the fabric of Keith’s shirt between her fingers when Allura approached, turning her attention to her. The Princess smiled at her, feeling giddy as the baby returned the gesture. She really was such a sweet, and generally good child (Lance had once said that they were lucky to get an ‘easy baby’ for their first).

Keith handed Karina over to her, taking the towel away. Allura quickly took the bare child to the bathtub, not wanting her to get cold. She had triple checked the temperature, and it was perfect (Keith had checked it himself as well). She lowered Karina into the little bath seat that would kept keep her up, not aware that Keith was inching away from them. Nor did she see him slip his communicator out of his pocket, clicking the record button.

Karina’s eyes went wide, and without warning, she screeched and started wildly splashing the water. Allura was so surprised that she didn’t even have time to move out of the way. She was absolutely drenched.

She sat there, stunned, before catching onto Keith’s laughter. She turned her eyes to him just in time to see Lance peaking his head over Keith’s shoulder, a broad smile on his face.

“Please tell me you recorded that,” Lance said, his chin resting on Keith’s shaking shoulder.

“I did,” Keith agreed with a grin.

“Delete that!” Allura demanded, trying to get Karina’s splashing in check.

“Never,” Lance replied, swiping the communicator from Keith.

“If I wasn’t holding a baby up in water I would end you, Díaz. End you. And you’re on thin ice too, Kogane!” She felt a tiny rush of pride as Lance actually ducked behind Keith’s smaller frame, the Black Paladin simply quirking an eyebrow. Though at her or her mate, she wasn’t quite sure. She’d assume it was at Lance’s silliness.

“She needs to stop hanging out with Pidge,” Lance muttered.

Keith just grinned, moving over to another part of the room, showing Allura a bright pink _thing_. “This is Ducky. Ducky is your best friend during bath time.” He placed it in the water in front of Karina, who stopped splashing and cooed in awe at the floating toy.

“You couldn’t have started with that,” Allura groaned, earning a laugh from the parents. When the baby joined in a moment later, she couldn’t help but smile too.

…

Lance was quiet as he laid in the cold, scratchy blankets that were on the bed in the spare room in the little suite he and Keith had been given. Well, the blankets weren’t actually that bad, they were just relatively unused.

The bed was smaller than the one he normally slept in, but it felt so much bigger, being alone. He tugged the blankets closer, closing his eyes, only to see red-rimmed, heartbroken, raging indigo eyes glaring back at him.

_“Then get out! Go! We don’t need you here!”_

He opened his eyes, whimpering again. How had this happened? A part of him, the part that was distinctly run by his Alpha instincts, was unimpressed with his Omega. He was able to push that part of him away, because he suddenly realized that Keith had _every_ right to be furious with him.

Lance pushed himself up. They had once promised not to go to sleep angry with one another, or at least without taking steps to come to some kind of reconciliation, yet that was exactly what he was doing right now.

He shoved the blankets off and made his way out of the door, hesitating in the narrow hall between the rooms, before slowly pushing forward.

The other door slid open, and a part of him was relieved that Keith hadn’t locked it, though a tiny cough reminded him that it might not be for his benefit.

He already knew that Keith was awake. How could he not be? Slowly, Lance approached the bed, where Keith was curled up in a makeshift nest, Karina snuggled up with him, her little ragged breathes breaking the Alpha’s heart to pieces.

“Hey,” Lance said, unable to stop his voice from cracking.

“Hey,” Keith replied, entirely devoid of anger, sounding so tired and defeated.

“How is she?” Lance asked, looking down at their little pup.

Keith rubbed her back, grimacing a bit as she coughed again. “She’s not throwing up anymore. That’s good.” He pointedly made sure not to look at Lane as he added, “She kept asking for you.”

There was absolutely no accusatory tone to his voice, but Lance still felt like he had been kicked in the gut. He blinked to try and keep back his tears as he said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for getting mad at you and snapping and storming away, especially when you needed me most.” He had done the one thing he swore he’d never do.

Keith kept staring at the baby as he said, “Well, you were right, this is kind of my fault. It _is_ a Galra illness. She’s Galra from me.”

Lance suddenly felt bold enough to sit down on the edge of the nest, running a hand up and down Keith’s arm. “Babe, no. It’s _not_ your fault. You’re an amazing mother, you caught onto the fact that she was sick before I did. You got your mom to bring that medicine. I just got so scared and you know sometimes I can’t stop myself from saying stupid things when I’m like that. It’s not your fault.”

The Omega finally looked up at him, and instead of angry eyes, he looked so tired. So, so tired. “You know what I realized? She’s going to be screwed when we go back to Earth. She won’t have any vaccines, won’t have exposure to anything there. It scares me. We could go back just to lose her to a _cold_.” He closed his eyes, but wasn’t able to stop the tears from falling.

“Hey, no.” Lance brushed the tears away. Despite his words, he realized that Keith was absolutely right. It was the same reason why they took precautions when going onto different worlds.

The thing was, the castle itself was actually a very clean, sterile environment. It had to be going from planet to planet so that they wouldn’t bring harmful microbes or other things with them. In the long run, that type of environment was horrible for immune systems, especially in young children. It was why they occasionally found a safe planet to go to, just to let Karina play outside in whatever kind of grass and dirt was there.

Still, Lance hadn’t thought about what it meant for going home. It was a very real reality that taking their daughter back to Earth may be more harmful than good.

It was painful to think about.  He thought about his parents, his siblings, his nieces and nephews. There was still the draw towards them, but at the same time, there was no question at all what he would choose if it came down to it. “It’s a problem we’d probably come across anywhere. We’ll figure something out, and if we can’t take her to Earth, we won’t go to Earth. ”

Keith looked up at him for a moment before shifting forward in the nest so that there was room behind him. Understanding, Lance crawled in behind him, pulling his back to his chest, his own hand gently placed on Karina’s back.

It was terrifying to feel their little baby struggle so much, but she would be okay. Both Coran and Krolia had said so. It was still distressing that she had to go through this instead of being able to go straight into a pod.

“Sometimes the body has to fight to learn how to ward off things in the future,” Coran had noted earlier, before their blowout.

“She’ll be okay,” Lance muttered, pressing gently kisses against Keith’s neck. “I’m sorry for how I acted. How I walked away.”

“Lance, that was different. I heard you go into the other room, and I was okay. You didn’t leave, not like Mom did. You just took some time for yourself. That’s okay. Besides, you came back,” Keith replied softly, shoulders relaxing slightly. “That’s what matters most.”

They fell into silence, neither one of them getting much sleep that night.

…

Karina was bouncing in her high-chair, kicking her legs back and forth as she babbled excitedly, slapping her little hands on the tray in front of her.

Keith couldn’t blame her for being so excited though. There was a giant, flaming cake in front of her, with all the important people in her life gathered around to sing a horribly off-key version of Happy Birthday.

Hunk moved the cake closer to her as they finished singing, and Allura sassed, “That is much too big for her.”

“She’s only going to eat a little bit,” the Alpha assured her.

Lance, meanwhile, was leaning close to the baby, and said, “Come on Karina, blow out the candle.”

Karina glanced up at him and then looked down at the cake, nimble little hand reaching out, grabbing a chunk of icing, and shoving it in her mouth.

“Mija, no,” Lance said to her, stopping her from reaching out to grab more.

She pouted up at him and then pressed her hand against his face, smearing frosting on it. “Yes.”

Pidge snorted loudly, snapping a picture from her phone. “Who taught her to say yes when people say no to her?”

Lance sent a pointed look at Keith’s direction. “Oh, I wonder.” He lowered his voice, “It’s like, ‘Don’t throw yourself out of your lion in space. Keith no’.” He then raised his voice. “Then Keith is all ‘Keith yes’ and throws himself out of a window or something.”

Keith pointedly looked away, focusing on the little girl that had snuck some more frosting. “Kari, blow out the candle.” He pointed at that fire.

“Oooooh,” she cooed in awe, staring at the flames. A little hand reached out, but before it could get too close to the fire, she sneezed instead, effectively putting the candle out. She blinked at it before laughing.

Coran laughed happily. “That’s certainly one way to do that.”

“Ah yes,” Matt said, his eyes glinting, “just how I like my cake, with an extra layer of baby snot.”

Keith grabbed a cloth to clean Karina’s nose and face, grimacing at the snot. “Gross.”

Hunk took the cake away, cutting pieces for everyone, though he put Karina’s piece in front of her first.

The one-year-old’s entire face lit up excitedly, and before either of her parents could stop her, she smashed her entire face down onto it, pulling it back up to reveal a wide grin covered in frosting and cake. She then shoved her hands into the mess, smearing it on the plate while shoving bits into her mouth.

Keith snorted and backed away a little bit, deciding to let her just enjoy herself. It wasn’t hurting anything, and the big smile on her face warmed him inside.

“Are you alright?” Krolia asked as she came up to him, having come to celebrate Karina’s first birthday.

“Hmm?” He slowly tore his eyes away from where Karina waved waving her sticky fingers at Lance. “Yeah. It’s just weird to think that she’s a year old.”

She laughed. “That feeling never changes, no matter how old she’ll get.” She tilted her head slightly. “Did you notice that I brought two gifts earlier?”  
  
“Yeah?”

“One of those was from Axca. Don’t worry, it’s safe.”

That startled him a bit. He looked at her with surprise. “I thought she still refused to talk to you? She’s only ever nodded at me from a distance.” To be fair, it wasn’t like they were really on the same side all the time.

Krolia smiled sadly. “No, not yet. I’ll keep trying though, because she’s my daughter.”

The Omega was about to reply to that when Lance called out, “Keith! Get over here for a picture!”

Krolia nudged him gently, so Keith went over to his mate and pup to get a few pictures with them. He eyed both of them with fond exasperation. “We should have done presents first, look at how sticky your fingers are. If only the ‘best party planner ever’ had listened to me.” He looked at Lance pointedly.

He smiled innocently. “Okay, so maybe we should have done it that way, but she loves the cake!”

As if suddenly realizing that both of her parents were there, Karina tilted her head back slightly to look at them. “Mama! Papa!” She held up her messy hands. “Cake!”

“She knows the word cake,” Hunk said, his voice choked up.

“Are you crying?” Pidge asked him, sounding positively delighted by this turn of events. “Matt, get it on film!”

Keith smiled as he watched their friends, their family interact, turning to look at his daughter again. “We’ll have to get you cleaned up before presents. This is why we waited on the dress Auntie Allura gave you.” He ran a finger over her thickening black hair, tugged back in tiny pigtails.

He heard a sigh and looked up at Lance, who was staring at both of them with a look of pure and utter adoration. His cheeks turned pink, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

His smile turned into a full-on laugh when Karina suddenly reached up, smearing her messy hand across Lance’s skin. The Alpha stared at her, a pinched expression on his face. “Thank you for sharing, Mija. Why don’t you share with Mama?”

Keith snickered and tried to scoot away from them, only for Pidge to stop him. Lance laughed and Karina smeared a bit of icing across his cheek, looking positively tickled. Someone was snapping yet another picture, but that was okay, because Keith wanted to hold times like this close for as long as he could.

It was moments like this that made every bad thing worth it.

…

It had been a long time since Keith felt that familiar twinge in his abdomen, the scorching warmth, pressure, and pain that had plagued him every three months from when he was 13 until he had fallen pregnant. It had been almost two years since he experienced a heat, and he honestly didn’t miss it.

By this point in time, he and Pidge both had their own separate piles of soft things to use for their nests. However, they would still raid other rooms together for things that belonged to their pack. Somehow, the scents weren’t quite right without the mix of Shiro’s in with it, but there was nothing they could do about that. They were looking for his physical body still, and both Black and Shiro’s consciousness insisted that it was okay, so it had to be with an ally somewhere. That was something they were all relieved about.

Keith was curled up in his nest, already in comfortable pyjamas, Karina sleeping peacefully on his chest. Having their baby with them from time to time was almost like a life-hack for Omegas. The point of heats was to conceive children, so having a very young pup close by helped lessen those urges a lot. It was like their instincts knew they already had one, and life was good. Keith was preening at the sight of his perfect little child, the Omega part of him positively giddy. The child he carried and brought into the world was strong and healthy, and he not only did he love her to pieces, but so did his Alpha.

She was actually going to have a sleepover with Auntie Allura, but that was okay, because she loved sleepovers with Auntie Allura. It involved pretty dresses and playing with the mice (they liked entertaining her, but only from out of reach from her grabby hands and sharp teeth). The plan was for Lance to bring her back every once and a while between lulls of warmth and slight insanity.

Lance came into the room, whistling a bit. “Nest is looking on-point, as always. I forgot how good you were at making them.”

Keith’s lips tipped up into a pleased smile, a low purr rumbling through his chest. Karina shifted a bit, a teeny little purr answering his as she nuzzled her nose into his neck. He ran his hand up and down her back. “Hey Kari, it’s time to go visit Auntie Allura.”

“Lura?” She shifted a bit, blinking at him tiredly, a small yawn crossing her features. She looked over at Lance as he reached out for her, frowning a little bit as he pulled her away from Keith. “Down.”

“We’re going to see Auntie Allura.”

“Down.”

“You wanna walk?” Lance set her on the floor.

“Yes.” She grasped onto the side of the of the bed, and Keith leaned forward so that she could see him properly. She reached out and patted his cheek. “Mama bye.”

“Bye, have fun,” he replied with a chuckle.

“Be back in a little bit,” Lance replied as he took one of Karina’s hands. He winked at him and added, “Feel free to lose your pants before I get back.”

Keith snorted. “Ridiculous Alpha.” He couldn’t stop himself from smiling fondly as he watched them go. Even now, a little over a year after she was born, Keith just couldn’t get over how much he cared about her, how much seeing her with Lance made that side of himself that he hated for so long purr with happiness. It was crazy to think about.

He could feel the effects on not having his baby with him after only a few minutes, which was insane, what the hell? His skin felt hot to the touch and very sensitive, making him glad for all the soft, cool blankets and pillows that he had.

He tugged at the neckline of his shirt, frowning a bit, because he thought that he had chosen a nice, soft one, but it was already bothering him as it brushed against his scent gland. He took it off, tossing it to the floor as if it had insulted him, and rolled over so that he was face down on one of his pillows.

Not a single part of him missed heats. Some other Omegas back on Earth might titter and tell him that it was awesome for their sex lives, but he was fine in that regard. He actually tended to not remember much of what happened during his heats (outside of the times he wasn’t doing something crazy like forcing himself to fly a mechanical lion), but that was common amongst Omegas. It was partially why they needed safe places to be in.

He was already half-way out of his mind, and the only comforting thing about that was that he could trust Lance without question. He wouldn’t do anything that Keith wasn’t normally okay with.

Honestly, heats were useless to him. He had zero plans of having another child anytime soon, so they could fuck right off.

Except, his child was absolutely perfect, in his humble opinion. Surly another one couldn’t be a bad thing, right?

Keith blinked. Nope. Screw that part of his brain. He wasn’t having any part of that right now. He had his baby and that was enough for the foreseeable future.

Lance’s scent caught his attention, and a pulsing, comforting warm rolled over him. His Alpha was here and would make sure that he was okay. He would make sure their pup was okay. These thoughts made him immensely happy. Though Keith knew Lance was in the room, he only moved when he felt a warm hand ghost along his back.  He felt the bed shift under him, an arm going around his waist as the Alpha essentially half laid on top of him, lips pressing against his scent gland as he inhaled deeply. “I love you so much.”

A shudder ran down Keith’s back, prompting his toes to curl a bit. He purred happily, tilting his head to the side so that he could see him a bit. “I guess I love you too.”

“You guess?” Lance sounded more than a little amused. Keith could see an impish grin across his features. “Well, I guess I’ll have to work hard to get that ‘I guess’ off of there.”

Keith smiled a bit as Lance tried to roll him over onto his back, doing absolutely nothing to help except bear his weight down a little more to make himself heavier. His small smile turned onto a full-on grin by the time Lance finally flipped him over.

“You little shit,” he said, peppering kisses from his shoulder, across his collar bone, and up his neck before kissing the corner of his lips. “Should just get up and walk out the door.”

“But you’re a good Alpha,” Keith said to him, eyes hooded and a bit of a purr to his words. “You wouldn’t do that to your Omega, would you?” He watched smugly as Lance’s eyes dilated, a flush running across the bridge of his nose. He also ignored that tiny part of him that panicked a bit at the thought of his Alpha just up and leaving him.

Keith hummed happily as Lance kissed him with every bit of ferocity and adoration that he had in him. Warmth pooled in his abdomen as their lips parted and moved against one another. Lance pulled away to tug his own shirt off, but then was back on Keith almost immediately, hands touching any bit of bare skin they could find.

Keith came back to himself long enough to ask, “Please tell me you’ve been using your meds again.”

“Of course,” Lance said, nipping at his pulse point. “You said no more for now, and I will do everything I can to respect that.” He paused in his motions. “Also I really don’t want to get tossed out the airlock, and I don’t doubt you’d do it.”

“I would,” Keith agreed solemnly. “Now get our pants off.”

Lance snorted in pure amusement, pulling back to look down at him. “So bossy.”

“But you like me.”

“That’s understating it a bit,” he agreed, tapping his nose. “I’ve got you, Babe. It’s okay to let go. I’ll take care of you.”

Keith smiled at him, and then pulled him down into another searing kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been trying to upload this all weekend but no of course it wasn't working. *long drawn out sigh*
> 
> An alternative title: The Karina Chapter. 
> 
> Again, thank you to everyone who reads this story, and an even bigger thank you to everyone who commented! Seriously, you guys are absolutely amazing! You don't realize how much you've helped shape this little world.
> 
> This chapter, again, is really more of an epilogue, but so is the next one. I'll get it out sometime this week! After that, well, we'll see!


	30. One Day

“Can you hear me?”

He could, but everything was so groggy and heavy that he couldn’t respond properly. He tried to make a sound, but it barely came out as an affirmative grunt. Where was he? Actually, now that he thought about it, _who_ was he?

“That sounds like a yes to me. Maybe we just need to poke him?”

“We’re not poking him awake, Lance,” a difference voice replied, clearly annoyed.

Lance? He knew that name. He also knew the second voice really well. Actually, something inside of him recognized all of the voices that were speaking around him. They made him feel warm and safe.

Slowly, he cracked open his eyes, grimacing a bit at the blinding light above him. He groaned a bit, and heard a flurry of sounds around him. Everyone was talking over one another, until someone finally said, “Shut up! Coran, can you dim the lights in the room?”

“Oh, that’s a good point, his optical nerves haven’t been used in years. Actually, none of his muscles or anything have.”

“Yeah, but the Polluxians put him in that pod so that there was no muscle degeneration, so he should be okay.”

“Shiro,” a voice, closer and quieter than the others, like he was leaning close to his ear, “it’s Keith. We dimmed the lights. You can open your eyes.”

Keith? Keith! That’s right, his little brother. Cautiously, Shiro forced his eyes open, the room blissfully dim. There, leaning over him slightly, was Keith.

Or was it Keith? Keith had a mullet and pale skin. This Keith had shorter hair in the back now, and a large purple mark starting under his right eye and going across his cheek. Not to mention he looked _older_. Still, it looked like Keith though.

Another person peered over Keith’s shoulder. Lance. He recognized Lance, but he too looked different. He had a pale scar that ran through his left eyebrow and then continued farther down on his cheek. Not only that, but he seemed taller and broader than Shiro remembered, and his hair was completely different.

“Keith?” Shiro managed to get out. It kind of hurt, like he hadn’t spoken for a long time. “Lance? What’s going on?”

The two looked at one another, before Lance asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Battle against Zarkon,” he said after a moment of thought. Both of them seemed startled by this, glancing at one another in surprise. “I get the feeling that it’s _not_ the last thing I should remember.”

“Allura?” Keith asked, looking over at something else.

Allura appeared in view, and Shiro blinked with surprise. Though she largely looked the same, her hair had been cut short, framing her face. It looked nice on her, but it was such a stark difference from before that it was genuinely startling.

She looked at something and shook her head. “I don’t know. Coran?”

“Memories are retained in our brains,” Coran said, and, blissfully, he looked exactly like Shiro remembered. “It’s possible that when we reunited his consciousness to his body that he lost all the memories he gained while he was united with Black because his physical body had never retained them.”

“…There are so many plot holes in that,” Hunk muttered. He appeared above Shiro, slipping an arm behind his back. “I’m going to sit you up, okay?”

“Alright,” Shiro replied, staring at him. His hair was much longer than he remembered, still tied back off his face with a headband, but curling in a way Shiro hadn’t known his hair could. Hunk helped him sit up, and his entire body ached.

Finally though, he could see the last two people in the room, a man and young woman that held a resemblance to one another. Shiro’s breath caught as he stared at them. “Matt? Pidge?”

Pidge beamed at him brightly, her hair held back in a ponytail. She clapped her hands together and said, “It really worked! We got him back!”

“For the most part!” Matt said with a chuckle. He looked _so_ different from when Shiro had last seen him, separated in a Galra prison after being captured on Kerberos. “So you really don’t remember anything else? You don’t remember all of the conversations we had when you were with Black? But I do. Oh man, the blackmail I now have that you don’t.” He seemed positively gleeful.

“When I was with Black?” he looked around at everyone. “What’s going on? Why do I feel like I was thrown years into the future?” He looked around, realizing something else. “And where did Lance just go?”

“He’ll be back,” Keith said with a shrug.

“Well, if the last thing you remember is the battle with Zarkon, yeah, it’s been a while,” Pidge said thoughtfully. “Like…it’s been years.”

“Years,” Shiro breathed out. He couldn’t remember _years_ of his life.

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed with a nod. “Black tried to do something to protect you during that battle and your body ended up on Pollux – we _just_ found it – and your consciousness…soul…whatever ended up with Black. Like you were both in the Black Lion. Then we had to deal with a clone of you and it was just a very stressful time for everyone.”

A clone of him? What the ever living hell? Pollux? He had never heard of it?

“Pollux?”

Allura’s eyes lit up. “Yes. Their population descended from the Alteans that survived the destruction of Altea. Princess Romelle found you and has been looking out for you ever since then.” Her lips tilted up to a smile. “She was quite taken with her handsome, ever-sleeping prince.”

Shiro’s face burned, and everyone around him chuckled. He looked from face to face again, taking in the added scars and all of the other things that were so, so different from what he remembered.

“Hey wait, Shiro’s awake!” Pidge perked up. “It means we can get another opinion! Shiro! Can we get matching space tattoos? Keith’s no fun.”

Keith groaned. “I never said you couldn’t get a tattoo, Pidge. I said those people were sketchy as hell and I’d fight them before I let them come at anyone with a needle.”

Shiro stared at them all like they were completely insane, causing Coran to chuckle. “Perhaps we should wait for discussions like this. I imagine this is a little overwhelming to Shiro.”

“It’s very overwhelming to Shiro,” he agreed. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for Coran and Allura to wake up, 10,000 years having gone by.

“Wait a second,” Matt said suddenly, his eyes locking onto Keith and going wide. “He remembers the battle with Zarkon, meaning he doesn’t _know_ about _her_.”

Keith blinked with confusion before realization crossed his features. He glanced at Shiro, amusement sparking in his eyes. “No, he wouldn’t, would he.”

“Her?” Shiro asked.

“Keith found his mom,” Pidge said, and if Shiro had a drink, he probably would have spat it out. “Oh, and clearly I found Matt and we also found dad and he went back to Earth and—“

“Pidge!” Hunk placed a hand on the top of her head. “Overwhelming.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” she smiled at him sheepishly. Her face then lit up. “So the last thing you remember is Keith and Lance awkwardly dating one another? Because that was a hilarious point that they both pretend never happened.”

Shiro _did_ remember that. He remembered being worried about them both, but especially Keith. He thought back to how they had stood close together when he first woke up, Lance leaning over Keith’s shoulder to look at him. Clearly it had worked out. If it had been years, there was one conclusion he could come to. “You guys are mates now, then?”

Keith looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Yeah. And, well, there’s someone else you should probably meet again. Before we took your consciousness out of Black, you kept telling me you were super excited to really get to meet her.”

“You’re the Black Paladin now?” Shiro asked him, latching onto that little, implied tidbit.

“Yeah,” Keith said with an almost shy nod of his head. Shiro felt pride well up in him, because really, how else could he feel. He remembered asking Keith to take over for him when they were all separated, and how reluctant he had been at even the idea. Now there was a confidence in him, and if it had been _years_ , it made sense that he’d be comfortable in the role.

“And you—“

“Mama!” Everyone jumped, and Shiro’s head snapped around to see Lance coming back into the room, following a small, moving blur that latched onto Keith’s side. “Kalt-ki-nicker ate my flower!” She glared at Keith through long eyelashes, black hair held back in a ponytail, brown cheeks puffed and tinted red with annoyance.

“What did we say about taking it with you when you were visiting Kaltenecker?”

She glared down at the floor, kicking at it with sky blue sneakers. “Not to.”

“Why?”

“She cow and will eat it?”

“Did Papá tell you to leave it?”

She glanced back at Lance, who raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed. “Yes.”

“If we get you a new one are you going to take it with you when you visit her again?”

The little girl’s blue glare lessened, turning into a pout. “No.”

Shiro watched the exchange with widening eyes. He could _see_ the clear resemblance between Keith and the toddler, and she definitely had Lance’s skin and eye colour.

He was missing enough of his memory that his younger brother, the one that always said he would never have kids, not only bonded with Lance, but apparently had a child with him. A child that was a toddler! He was never going to sleep again out of fear that he’d wake up and there would suddenly be grandkids.

“Mija, stop pouting,” Lance said, moving close to them. “Uncle Shiro’s awake.”

The girl’s blue eyes instantly snapped up to Shiro. They went wide, and suddenly all that stubbornness was gone. She scooted behind Keith’s legs, peering at him shyly. She tugged at Keith’s pants and said, “Mama?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s not a lion anymore.”

Everyone started laughing at that. Keith shook his head, carefully scooping the child up into his arms. “Of course not. I told you he wouldn’t be. Now say hi.” He paused. “Nihongo.”

“Kon…kno-itchy-wa oji?” She looked up at Keith, double checking to make sure she said close to the right thing.

Shiro felt himself melting as this small child stumbled over his native language. He knew that Keith spoke it too (he was part Japanese himself), but knowing that he passed the language on to his own daughter (which was still super weird to think about) was heartwarming. On top of that, she called him oji, which was just sweet.

“Konnichiwa mei,” Shiro replied, trying not to sound choked up.

“I am Karina, not Mei.” She glared at him.

Shiro laughed. Good god, this little girl was Keith. “Mei means niece in Japanese.”

She blinked. “Oh.” Shy once again, she hid her face in Keith’s neck.

Shiro chuckled at her, warmth rushing through him as he watched Lance come up behind Keith, putting a hand on his back. It was actually sweet to see. Strange, but sweet.

He yawned, spurring Coran into action. “Let’s let him get some rest. I’d like you to remain here, Shiro, so that I can monitor you for a little bit.”

“I should contact Princess Romelle,” Allura spoke up. “Let her know that everything went smoothly. I’m sure she’ll want to meet you, Shiro.”

Despite the fact that he had apparently been asleep for years like some Sleeping Beauty, Shiro still nodded his head. Meeting the princess that apparently kept him safe would be nice, but he was a bit overwhelmed and could really use some normal sleep. Maybe some of his memories could come back to him.

Actually, some impressions already were. A few small things. One in particular caught his attention. “Keith?”

“Hmm?”

“I think I remember something, a conversation you had with me when I was…with Black?”

“We had a lot of conversations,” Keith said, staring at him curiously.

“Right, well, where’s the other one?”

“…Other one?” Keith asked, looking terribly confused.

“Yeah, the other baby.”

They all stared at him oddly, before Lance snorted. “You must be remembering the fact that you…Black…whatever, figured out Keith was pregnant with Karina before he even knew.”

That made sense, except there was a look on Keith’s face. A smile ticking up on his lips that no one else noticed. He raised an eyebrow and stared at Shiro with this knowing look.

Then it clicked and Shiro’s eyes went wide. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Lance said with a laugh, clapping his shoulder. “We only have one baby. It’s okay. We’ll catch you up to all your memories.”

Karina looked around, seemingly confused, before she said, “Oji, it’s here.” She pointed at Keith’s stomach, and everyone froze.

“What does that mean?” the Alpha asked his pup, brow furrowing with confusion.

“Papá!” She huffed and pointed at herself. “One, me.” She pointed at Keith’s stomach. “Two, baby.” She held up two fingers and stared at Lance, as if challenging him to correct her. Not that it mattered though, he just looked gobsmacked.

Keith kept his eyes locked onto Shiro’s, clearly aware of the shocked expressions on everyone around him. Lance himself looked like he had just been slapped in the face with a fish. “Well, she’s not wrong.”

“Wait—I—what?” Lance spluttered, but Keith had already turned to leave the room, child in hand, everything about him completely amused. “Keith!” He went through the door, and Lance stumbled after him. “What the fu—dgecakes? Don’t ignore me!”

Everyone else erupted into chatter, quickly following after the pair until only Shiro, Matt, and Coran remained. Matt chuckled and shook his head, while Coran looked terribly amused. Matt raised an eyebrow and said, “You knew?”

“I did the scan when he was suspicious,” Coran confirmed with a nod. “You?”

“He threw up in front of me and I told him he should get a scan, so I suspected,” Matt replied with a nod. He looked towards Shiro. “Surprise, you’re an uncle twice over, apparently.”

Shiro sighed and leaned back, “I need to get some sleep, then I need to get caught up on everything. Don’t let me sleep into the grandkid stage, okay?”

Matt snorted and nodded his head. “We’ll make sure won’t wake up in 20 to 30ish years. And I’m sure everyone else will let you rest. They’re going to be all over Keith right now.” He paused. “That was definitely the reason he let Karina blurt that out. He could have stopped her.”

“Remind me to thank him when I wake up.” Shiro yawned loudly, leaning back into the bed. “Matt?” The other Beta stopped and looked at him. “I’m glad Pidge found you, and your dad, and that everyone’s okay.”

“We’re all glad you’re okay too,” Matt said with a smile before turning to leave the room.

Coran chuckled and said, “Get some sleep. I’ll be monitoring your vitals, and when you wake up, you can catch up with everyone.”

That sounded good. His family, his pack had changed so much, he was eager to hear all of their tales up to this point. Hell, he was an _uncle_ and he was going to become an uncle _again_ , so just that was worth catching up from. He already felt excited over that.

The Beta fell back to sleep, able to rest peacefully for what felt like the first time in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks! Thanks to everyone who stuck around! It's been a wild ride!


End file.
